Where Is Home for the Transitory?

I stumbled upon an essay by an anthropologist who had a diverse background before settling in Michigan.

But where is she actually from?

When I travel and a stranger asks if I’m from Michigan, I immediately reply: ‘I live there, but I’m not from there.’ I feel compelled to tell everyone about my immigrant past: ‘I was born in Cuba, my ancestors were Jews who spoke Yiddish and Judeo-Espanyol, and I grew up in New York. I live in Michigan because it’s where I work.’

Home for me is a similarly flu...