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How to Avoid Being Homesick

posted by LIM College

I am pretty sure everyone that has left their family and home country behind to go travel and/or study abroad has felt a very sad and deep feeling called homesickness.  Homesickness is difficult to avoid, especially when you first arrive in a new place. The fact is that if you have a heart and care about the people around you, you will always miss them a lot.

alves_022315Technology, however, makes everything so much easier nowadays so you don’t have to spend any time lying around crying. There is Skype, Facetime, Viber, WhatsApp and endless social network channels that can bring everyone together and make that homesick feeling practically go away. The idea though, is not to be constantly connected and talking to people back home all the time, but actually to schedule a Skype or FaceTime date, for example. This way you can catch up on everything that’s going on but still be present in the new experiences you are having without any distractions.

Another tip is to stay busy. When traveling to a different country, it’s very easy to plan things to do. There are always new places to see, new restaurants to try and museums to visit. Make sure you are always busy and doing things that you can learn from while enjoying yourself. The whole point of moving out of your country is to try new things and to experience a different life and culture, so don’t hesitate on doing any of that!

And lastly, your experience should be all about yourself. Why did you decide to study abroad?  I am pretty sure it had to do with making a better version of yourself. Go for it! Take pictures. Have fun. Do silly things. Learn the language. Sleep in. Don’t sleep. Eat a lot. Laugh. Talk to people you usually wouldn’t— do everything you can to have a lot to bring home in the end.

Topics: international students, Brazil

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