Chilling in Bali: Kaleo Kolb says home to him “doesn’t always have to be a place but it is a feeling of familiarity”
Kaleo Kolb is 19. He was born in Dubai but has also lived in Germany, Japan and Goa. He works as a goalkeeping coach in Bali, Indonesia, but wants to study Photography in Europe in the coming years. As part of our My Pad series, DOMINIK FROLEC asked him about what home means to someone who has already lived in so many places.
Where do you live?
In Ubud, Bali, with my family. I am currently on their couch in their living room.
Cool wheels: Stacey III, Kaleo’s 1982 Corolla
How long have you lived here?
I have lived here for two months now. I’ve just come back off of a gap year, working abroad. I am having a little break to figure out what I want to do next.
Describe this place in three words.
Warm. Beautiful. Chill.
What does home mean to you?
Home is where you can walk around naked with no worries. A place when you enter and you just let out a nice sigh of relief and relax. Home can also be the people you surround yourself with. It doesn’t always have to be a place but it is a feeling of familiarity. Of comfortable, nice friendly, familiarity. Familiar Familiarity (chuckles).
Garden peace: The family dog chills outside
Out of all the places you have lived in, what felt most like home and why?
I have lived in Dubai and Bali for multiple years as well as a few months each in Munich and Rusutsu, Hokkaido. I felt the most at home in Bali, 100 percent. I moved here for a year and was supposed to originally move back to Dubai after that. I enjoyed my year so much that I was able to convince the rest of my family to move here too. Bali feels most like home because the connections and friendships I have made here have felt more genuine and real.
Was that your most significant move of home?Yes, definitely the move from Dubai to Bali on my own to live with my best friend for a year. Despite being extremely nervous, the move helped me become independent and more adventurous.
What ruins a home?
One of those goofy ‘Hawaiian style’ signs that moms put up about love, peace, and family.
What contributes to turning a house into a home?
Spending quality time there. With time and love, any house can become a home.
In your view, does home have to always be a place? Why or why not?
Not necessarily, it just has to have a place in your heart.