Whether it takes three weeks or three months, there will be a moment where you really miss home. For me it started small, I really missed cheesesteaks. But as weeks passed, I caught myself crying because I really missed my little sister. Homesickness is a natural feeling, so don’t think that you’re failing a maturity test or something. But how do you get through those bouts of melancholy? There is no sure way of curing homesickness, but here are a few things that helped me stay grounded during my time in Rome.
1.Find home in the things around you
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I found myself a bit sad to not be celebrating with my family. I would also be missing Friendsgiving and felt sadder than I expected over this fact. After almost three continuous months of Italian food, I longed for the food from home. I tried to recreate the warmth of my grandma’s food by making her recipes. But nothing came out quite the same with Italian ingredients. I had a hankering for a home-cooked meal made by someone other than me or my roommate Katana. It’s as if the universe sensed my longing because as I left work, my coworker invited me to his place for dinner. My coworker Faisal is from Iraq, so I was so excited to eat traditional Middle Eastern food.
Me and Katana ventured to his house where the smell of delicious spices permeated the space. My coworker quickly shooed us from the kitchen, and I got a flash of my grandmom kicking everyone out of hers during the holidays. As my other coworkers arrived, the table became full of desserts and sides from their home countries. We all sat around the table talking and getting to know more about each other. The dinner was beautiful, and I got to try foods I had never tried. Most importantly, I got the warmth of a home-cooked meal I had longed for. So, one of the main ways I fought homesickness abroad was by finding home in the things around me.
. Remember your time abroad is temporary
And as much as you may want to click your heels together three times and go home-don’t do it. One of the easiest ways to make it through those final months or weeks of your study abroad experience is by remembering that your time there is temporary. I will never be 22 living in Rome again, so as much as I miss things from home, I cannot squander this experience. When you remember that your time in your host country is temporary, you begin to think about all the things you still have to accomplish before you go home. I was so hyped to go home and see my family that I forgot that I still had so much of Italy to explore. So now with three weeks left, I am attempting to plan four different day trips. You will think that you have seen all there is to see, but that is rarely the case. While I do miss home, I will miss the home that I have made in Italy just as much. But I have a little under a month to explore the rest of Italy, so stay tuned for those travel tips! And see how other students bid sweet farewell to their host countries after months away from home.
