Homesick & Abroad? Keep in Touch with Family

No matter the length of your abroad adventure, it is likely you will become homesick at some point in time. Instead of panicking and booking a flight home, check out this list of tips to help aid homesickness and keep in touch with your support system. It is important to remember it is completely okay to feel homesick at times, and you are never alone.

• Before you adventure abroad, be sure to tell your friends and family the easiest and most convenient ways to reach you. It is especially important to notify older generations what applications or websites they should use as they may need assistance setting it up. The functions of WhatsApp may be common sense for millennials, but baby boomers may have a tough time.Popular apps include WhatsApp, WeChat, Skype, Google Voice, Viber and Kik. Depending on your location the locals may prefer different apps over others and some may not even be accessible in your region.

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• Schedule your phone calls and chats with family just like you would a class or meeting, and most importantly, keep your word. You are much more likely to contact your best friend from home if you plan to call them at 4 p.m. EST, instead of having to calculate time zone differences in the moment.
• A popular way to record your memories and connect with your loved ones at home is to blog. This provides an outlet for your emotions and also lets you share your journey with your friends and family without spending hours on the phone telling the same stories over and over again. Enable the comment section so your followers can reply to your post and engage with the blog.
• Text messages may come and go, but postcards stay forever. Postcards are one of the best ways to preserve memories while abroad. Choose a pen pal to converse with and plan to reply to every note they send. Postcards are a cheap and thoughtful way to remind your loved ones you are thinking about them, and one of the best parts is you don’t have to reply back and forth right away. 
  

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• Share your adventure of a lifetime with a friend or family member and invite them to visit. List some of the sights and activities you can show them so they are more likely to join you. It is best to plan a visit as soon as possible due to the fact ticket prices will keep increasing closer to the date of departure.
• One of the best ways to aid homesickness is to make new friends. Although they will not necessarily take your loved one’s place, they will expose you to new cultures and attitudes. It is best to find a communal living space. If you are traveling for a weekend to a different city, opt for a hostel instead of a one-room hotel by yourself.