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[00:02.13] Jeremy: So Abedimi, you grew up really with two homes.
[00:07.12] Can you tell us a little bit about what it’s like having two homes?
[00:11.87] Do you feel any particular loyalty more to one than the other or are they both home for you?
[00:16.87] Abidemi: That’s a good question. I think for me, both places are home.
[00:22.12] I grew up in Nigeria and in Canada. My extended family, he’s in Nigeria.
[00:29.62] So when I go there, I instantly feel at home, like, they welcome me with open arms.
[00:36.12] It’s the food, the music, the people, the smell. It’s amazing.
[00:41.87] It’s like I almost never left, except when I open my mouth and speak in English and it's a completely different accent.
[00:47.12] That’s a different story.
[00:48.62] But then I go to Canada, and I think my way of thinking, my mentality, is more oriented toward that way.
[00:55.87] Like, I think more like a Canadian, I find in a lot of situations. So that is home, too.
[01:01.87] A lot of my friends are in Canada. My parents are in Canada.
[01:05.37] So, I don’t know. I don’t really feel a conflict of interest most of the time.
[01:14.37] So I think I’m just kind of enjoying having two places where I fit in more or less.
[01:21.12] Jeremy: So it is possible for a person to have two homes then.
[01:23.37] Abidemi: And even more. I think it is possible, yeah. And it's great. It’s awesome.
[01:27.62] Jeremy: So you’ve been away from Canada for a while now. When you go back there, do you find it difficult or easy to reintegrate into your city, into your family’s house, or does it take a little bit of time to readjust?
[01:43.87] Abidemi: It does take a couple of days or three, because where I live now is different.
[01:49.37] So sometimes, when I go home, just the language, hearing English everywhere and being able to understand what everyone is saying.
[01:59.62] Sometimes it’s overwhelming.
[02:00.62] I’m just like, “Whoa, whoa, which conversation do I listen to? Do I eavesdrop--eavesdropping on?” So there is that aspect.
[02:08.37] There is also the fact that some of my friends, our relationship is not as close as it used to be.
[02:15.12] So you go back home and you’re talking about—I talk about my new life and they don’t really understand all that I’m going through.
[02:24.12] And they are moving on with their lives as well. So that aspect is different—and missing my parents as well.
[02:32.62] But it always feels really good when I go back and see them, and spend that time with them, yeah, to reconnect.
[02:40.12] And eating all the food that I’ve missed being away from home, that’s always awesome.
[02:44.62] I always try to make list to make sure I cover everything I want to eat.
[02:48.87] Jeremy: Is there anything in particular that you look forward to eating when you go back home, the first thing that you immediately make a beeline for?
[02:55.38] Abidemi: Oh! I love food, so it’s hard to choose one. I just want to eat everything.
[03:01.88] I mean, there is pizza—the local pizza shop near my house where my—oh my gosh, I got to have pizza there.
[03:07.62] There’s Tim Hortons, Timmy’s, the hot chocolate, the muffins. Love that. There’s my local restaurant—I don’t know—my mom’s cooking.
[03:18.12] So it’s hard to pick just one thing.
[03:20.37] I really look forward to going home and the food, so yeah.
[03:25.12] Jeremy: Yeah. As a fellow Canadian, I know what you mean, especially with Tim Hortons.
[03:28.37] Abidemi: Oh, thank you.
