Curing Homesickness During the Holidays While Abroad
Once you have made the move overseas, it is natural to feel a bit of homesickness. When you go from seeing family and friends every day, to not seeing them at all, it can be a very lonely experience. These feelings will probably manifest themselves even more during the holiday season, whether your new country celebrates the same holidays or not. There are a lot of different things you can do to help with homesickness however, because while you will always keep your loved ones in your heart, your feelings of loneliness will eventually pass.
The first step toward curing your homesickness comes internally. There are two things that you must do, be patient, and keep an open mind. Your loneliness will not be cured overnight, but with time it will eventually pass. You should keep an open mind to new experiences and meeting new people. Making friends overseas will mean that you will have people to share holiday experiences with, even if they do not normally celebrate them.
However, just because you are making new friends, does not mean that you are forgetting your old ones. Contact your friends and family back home during the holidays. They will probably be very excited to hear from you, and it will be nice to hear a familiar voice, or see a friendly face. Video chatting and social media allow us to keep contact with the people we love from anywhere on the globe. Utilize these services and let them know that you are thinking of them. If the internet is not good in your area, or if the people you are contacting are not technologically inclined, you can go the old fashioned route of picking up the phone and giving them a call. If you are lucky, the people that you love will all be gathered together, so you should be able to communicate with everyone at once. It will be an experience you will not soon forget.
Celebrating in Your New Country
If your new country does not celebrate the holiday, then bring the holiday to your new country. Have your new friends and coworkers over to your house for a celebration. Your friends will probably be excited to learn new things about your culture anyway. Explain to all of them beforehand what to expect, and the meaning behind the holiday. Unless they are morally opposed in some way, they will likely be enthusiastic in sharing this experience with you.
If you have not had the chance to make a lot of friends yet, do some research online and see if there are any other people from your homeland that are celebrating the holidays. They might be willing to allow you to join them in the celebration. Because they are in a similar situation as you, they likely are feeling the same as you. If you share your homesickness together, the feeling should subside. Just because you are thousands of miles away from your old home, does not mean that you have to spend the holidays alone. With time and good people around you, your homesickness will go away with a little patience and an open mind.
