My beloved hometown

To quote one of my favorite artist, Maia Hirasawa: "Gothenburg, I thank you, you gave me someone to love and I really owe you".

In very many ways I feel more attached to my hometown of Göteborg/Gothenburg, and the West coast of Sweden, than with Sweden itself. When I get geographically homesick, I don't miss Sweden's many lakes and grand forests, I miss the ocean, the smell of salt and the bare granite. I don't necessarily miss Swedish, but the local dialect of Göteborg is like chicken soup for my soul. If I would find myself disliking something about Sweden, it would never apply to Göteborg. Without a doubt, I have put the city and the people of the city on a very high pedestal.

There are several factors contributing to my love for Göteborg. I'm brought up there, my family is there and many of my friends live there. It's the city I'm most familiar with and the first city I got to explore and discover. And on top of that, in my opinion, the West coast of Sweden is the most beautiful place in the world.

In 2002 I left Göteborg to pursue university studies in England. Since then I have lived in several other places. But Göteborg has always been a place I could come home to and a place where I feel completely at ease. With the exception of a few new restaurant and clubs, and a few new and re-routed tram lines, the city has remained pretty much unchanged throughout the years.

It dawned on me, that in September this year, it will have been 10 years ago I left Göteborg. I have moved back, briefly, a few times since, but all in all, I haven't lived there for quite some time. This got me thinking. If I was 6 when I moved from Taipei to Göteborg and it's been almost 10 years since I left the city and I haven't turned 30 yet, I must have spent more than half my life outside my beloved hometown. This prompted me to take a closer look. If I break my life down into months and look at where I've lived during the majority of each month (excluding vacations and business travels), by the end of April 2012, I will have lived the majority of my life elsewhere than Göteborg.

As a tribute to Göteborg, which will always be my beloved hometown, I want to share Maia Hirasawa's song and music video. Unlike her, I have never doubted my feelings towards the city, but just like her, I would write a songs about Göteborg if I was a songwriter.