Everyone becomes homesick. I’ve hosted 12 international students and been the representative for many more. I’ve known two that have gone home (none of the ones I’ve hosted). The main reason they cannot cope with their homesickness is that they communicate too much with home! That is NOT the cure! The more you communicate with home, the more your heart is still at home instead of where you are living and studying.

In this case, the computer is NOT your friend! It encourages you to stay too tied to your home country with easy and cheap (or even free) communication! You should only talk to your home family and friends once or twice a month — and that goes for chatting too! E-mail can be more often as that is not interactive. Even better, develop a small website to share your pictures and experiences with your family and friends.

That is a preventative. A cure is to tell someone, don’t suffer in silence, and get busy! If you are in a homestay environment, tell your host family! If you are at a university, tell your classmates and friends. Then, get out! Go to see something new … a different museum, a new coffee shop, just walking down a new street.

I have never seen someone actually go home because they were homesick, but I am sure it happens. Just remember, when you are studying abroad your thoughts and emotions have to adapt too and will usually follow a path of ups and downs. Just ride it out. Most students get over this in one of two ways. They either seek out students from their home country and stick together. The other alternative is to embrace this new culture all around you, hang out with native students and do the things they do. Both types of study abroad students go home with a great experience, but the ones that emmersed themselves in the foreign culture tend to go abroad again.

Just keep your chin up, ride it out, and GET OUT OF YOUR DORM ROOM! Keep yourself occupied and you won’t be homesick.

Homesick`you gotta be`joking` there`Spica`all`them`at home` will wish`they`were`Here`when My Ship`Sails`? soon`?