For Nejma Hezaimia, home is in many places. As she spends time in the Philippines as a foreign exchange student, will Manila be another place she finds a home in too?

WHEN NEJMA Hezaimia sat down for her interview, she came bearing an Iron Man phone wallpaper and a pendant necklace shaped like Africa, the continent of her birth.

Born in Algeria and raised in France, Hezaimia is currently living and studying in the Philippines. At the time of the interview, she had only been in the Philippines for a month and a half. Prior to this, she finished the first two years of her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science in her home university, Sciences Po in Paris, France.

Because her program requires students to take one year abroad, she took the opportunity to spend her third year of study in the Philippines. Though it meant living away from home and its comforts, her desire to leave the nest was nonetheless a great opportunity to find a new one.

Finding your people

It can be said that the key to creating any new home is finding that sense of family. For Hezaimia, the start of this search began with her interest in Filipino culture and language, which pushed her to realize her dream of visiting the Philippines. After listening to her Filipino friends converse with each other in their Paris neighborhood, Hezaimia felt encouraged to study the language herself.

However, limited exposure to the Filipino language has prevented her from further learning it. “People [back home] told me you have to go to the Philippines to learn [Filipino]…but, I mean, they all speak English [in the Ateneo], so [it’s] kind of difficult,” Hezaimia shares.

She nevertheless finds herself gravitating naturally towards her newfound Filipino friends, instead of solely sticking with other foreign exchange students. Although Hezaimia does not mind meeting other French or Algerian people, she agrees that birds of the same feather do not always flock together. “[After all,] I came to the Philippines to learn more about Filipinos,” she explains.

Describing Filipinos as “really polite, warm, and nice,” Hezaimia’s interactions with local students have been smooth sailing—sometimes, even to a point of shock. “The Ateneo community] is really welcoming. It’s surprising, in a good way,” she mentions. Feeling that warmth from both her Filipino friends and the Ateneo community as a whole, Hezaimia achieving that sense of family may well be the start of finding a home away from home in the Philippines. 

A house or a home? 

However, living across the globe still has its tests. Hezaimia described how she often felt in denial trying to accept how far she has come, literally and figuratively. Sometimes, it takes facing her reflection in the mirror to realize that she is actually living in Manila. “It’s the first time that I traveled by myself, lived by myself, and just experienced all these moments by myself… it was kind of weird to me, so I was in that denial,” she shares. 

Carrying diverse memories from distant locations, Hezaimia comes from three places she considers home: her grandmother’s house in the south of France, her local neighborhood in Paris, and her family residence in Algeria. To her, all of these places are not simply physical structures where she resides; rather, they are “homes” because of the comfort she associates with the people around her. Though she is fulfilling her dream of visiting the Philippines, she has yet to fully and wholly feel that same sense of belonging.

Nonetheless, Hezaimia remains positive as she reflects on finding her place in Manila as time passes by. “Maybe it’s too early to think about it. I do not feel at home here though. I [am going to] live here for a year, and that’s a lot of time. Maybe I’ll think about it more the longer I live here. Or maybe I’ll realize it after I [stop] living in the Philippines already,” she mentions.

No place like home

They say home is where the heart is, but for exchange students away from their loved ones, finding this “heart” in foreign land may not always be easy. However, Hezaima—carrying the memories of her three homes—does share her thoughts on what truly accounts for where the heart is. “I think a home is not really in a place you are in; it’s the memories and experiences you create and how you feel about them,” she shares.