Expat Exchange Community
4 months ago
How to deal with homesickness during the holydays
4 months ago
How to deal with homesickness during the holydays
To study abroad is a wonderful experience and a big challenge. When you spend a semester or a year studying abroad it is likely you will spend certain time immersed in an unfamiliar environment and an unknown culture. You will be doing things you never did before, eating things you did not even think were eaten in your hometown. You will discover that people celebrate holydays in unusual ways. You will also learn that certain celebrations are unique to certain culture, and you will nurture yourself in this process of discovering new things.
However, once the honeymoon stage and the initial excitement of being in a foreign country is over, you might find yourself missing those familiar things and people from home, especially in important days for you like your birthday or, the holydays.
Being away from home during the holidays can be certainly strange and even hard and it is normal to feel homesick. The holiday season makes us very aware of the distances between ourselves and the routines we were familiar with Things you can do that might help cheer you up,
• Stay busy. Study, get updated with your work. Do your laundry, clean your room. Buy food. Get ready for your classes for after the break.
• Make a routine. Be careful with the extra free time. Do not stay in bed and oversleep. Create a routine for yourself where you can mix, time outdoors, exercise, treats, and meeting people. Make the effort and try to not stay alone, cause if you are feeling homesick, loneliness only makes it worse. Reach out to others in your program they might be feeling the same.
• Visit the new place. No need to travel to another city just allow yourself to move around and visit whatever there is to see. Museums, parks, zoo…Whatever you like. Take a city tour, that usually helps you get an idea of the place and then you can get back there on your own to see what it is about.
• Stay connected but do not overdo it.
Internet and social media have changed the possibilities of staying connected with home shrinking distances in ways we could only see in science fiction. It is great to stay connected but be careful and do not overdo it the purpose of studying abroad is to immerse in a new culture new place, get to know new people, if you are constantly stick to the phone, which does not help. Allow yourself to be in the present tense, there will be time to tell the stories when you get back home.
Technology has made it easy to leave home without ever leaving home. Now the way you deal with this depends on you. The tool is great, use it to help you not to avoid interactions. With social media the fear of missing out can overtake you and make your homesickness worse. Focus on creating exciting posts of your own instead of following every movement back home.
• Celebrate holidays from your home country.
One wonderful way to deal with homesickness during the holidays is to celebrate holidays native to your home country. For Americans studying abroad the best examples are thanksgiving and Independence Day. Well then, use the opportunity to share with the host country, with your new friends, a little of your own culture, tell them what you celebrate those days. Invite them for a Thanksgiving feast.
• Season to be jolly?
The truth is that you will not be the only studying abroad student to feel homesick during the holidays Gather with other students from your program. Share the moment with our new friends Remember, the holidays are the seasons to be jolly, grateful, and giving. It is a time to give yourself a present and stay present in the moment and place you are. Good luck. Ines Estrada Vigil, Cl Psychologist
To study abroad is a wonderful experience and a big challenge. When you spend a semester or a year studying abroad it is likely you will spend certain time immersed in an unfamiliar environment and an unknown culture. You will be doing things you never did before, eating things you did not even think were eaten in your hometown. You will discover that people celebrate holydays in unusual ways. You will also learn that certain celebrations are unique to certain culture, and you will nurture yourself in this process of discovering new things.
However, once the honeymoon stage and the initial excitement of being in a foreign country is over, you might find yourself missing those familiar things and people from home, especially in important days for you like your birthday or, the holydays.
Being away from home during the holidays can be certainly strange and even hard and it is normal to feel homesick. The holiday season makes us very aware of the distances between ourselves and the routines we were familiar with Things you can do that might help cheer you up,
• Stay busy. Study, get updated with your work. Do your laundry, clean your room. Buy food. Get ready for your classes for after the break.
• Make a routine. Be careful with the extra free time. Do not stay in bed and oversleep. Create a routine for yourself where you can mix, time outdoors, exercise, treats, and meeting people. Make the effort and try to not stay alone, cause if you are feeling homesick, loneliness only makes it worse. Reach out to others in your program they might be feeling the same.
• Visit the new place. No need to travel to another city just allow yourself to move around and visit whatever there is to see. Museums, parks, zoo…Whatever you like. Take a city tour, that usually helps you get an idea of the place and then you can get back there on your own to see what it is about.
• Stay connected but do not overdo it.
Internet and social media have changed the possibilities of staying connected with home shrinking distances in ways we could only see in science fiction. It is great to stay connected but be careful and do not overdo it the purpose of studying abroad is to immerse in a new culture new place, get to know new people, if you are constantly stick to the phone, which does not help. Allow yourself to be in the present tense, there will be time to tell the stories when you get back home.
Technology has made it easy to leave home without ever leaving home. Now the way you deal with this depends on you. The tool is great, use it to help you not to avoid interactions. With social media the fear of missing out can overtake you and make your homesickness worse. Focus on creating exciting posts of your own instead of following every movement back home.
• Celebrate holidays from your home country.
One wonderful way to deal with homesickness during the holidays is to celebrate holidays native to your home country. For Americans studying abroad the best examples are thanksgiving and Independence Day. Well then, use the opportunity to share with the host country, with your new friends, a little of your own culture, tell them what you celebrate those days. Invite them for a Thanksgiving feast.
• Season to be jolly?
The truth is that you will not be the only studying abroad student to feel homesick during the holidays Gather with other students from your program. Share the moment with our new friends Remember, the holidays are the seasons to be jolly, grateful, and giving. It is a time to give yourself a present and stay present in the moment and place you are. Good luck. Ines Estrada Vigil, Cl Psychologist
