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5 Ways to Fight Homesickness

August 2, 2017
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I never thought I’d be the type to get homesick.  I’ve never been a homebody and have a huge love for travel.  When I left for college, I loudly announced my joy to all of my Snapchat followers that my parents were O-U-T-T-A here!  Anticipating a summer abroad, I didn’t think three months across the Pond would make me crave the boring old Midwest, but my, was I wrong!  I may have been savoring sweet bites of chocolate macarons, but I wanted nothing more than a chicken burrito bowl from Chipotle.  I casually strolled through the elite Galeries Lafayettes downtown, but all I longed for was a walk through Target’s dollar section in the U.S. This monster is named homesickness.

Whether or not you’re like me, it’s impossible to avoid being homesick forever, especially when you’re overwhelmed with culture shock.  Here are five ways to calm your homesickness:

1. Find your happy place.

And this isn’t coming from some weird guru who hasn’t showered in three months who sits crosslegged 24/7.  Whether you’ve moved several hours away or several countries away, it’s going to take awhile to find your new normal.  In the meantime, find a place where you’re happy and comfortable.  For me, that was the Starbucks both when I moved to college and to France.  It was known, and I knew the typical behavior (because that’s not a given in another culture).  I also found a park near my apartment and enjoyed taking walks there.  Whether it’s a cafe or park, find somewhere where you can truly savor rest—and this is not in your apartment!

2. Lather up on the grace.

Because the basic tasks like grocery shopping will take substantially more energy.  A typical day at home may have included several errands, dinner prep, a coffee date and a workout.  But being in a new environment is draining.  Give yourself the grace to take life more slowly in the beginning; beating yourself up for not being able to live the life you had before only sets you back.

Processed with VSCO with nc preset

3. Journal your thoughts (yes, even the messy ones).  

When the culture shock wears you down and you’ve never been more homesick in your life, take time to reflect.  Write each and every day even if the feelings are rough, raw and real.  You may be living in one of the most beautiful countries in the world yet having the worst month of your entire life.  That’s okay healthy to admit.  Here are some journal prompts to help you dig deeper:

Homesickness Journal Prompts Culture Shock Travel Abroad

RELATED ARTICLE: 3 Tips to Travel Journal Like a Pro.

4. Look back on past hardships.

This is much more helpful if you’ve maintained a journal where you’ve shared your uncomfortable feelings.  On a particularly hard day in France, I flipped back through my journal to an entry six months prior.  I’d detailed my hurt feelings from a difficult time.  And sitting at my little desk in my French apartment, I realized how much I’d grown from that rough patch months before.  It’d been one of the most painful experiences I’d ever experienced, but time had healed the hurt.  And even more, I became a stronger woman who understood herself and others much, much better.  Beyond painful experiences, leaving teaches you more than you could ever imagine.

Val d'Azun Pyrénées Mountains Travel

5. Call family and friends.

Life in a new city or country can feel lonely and like constant homesickness.  It’s oh-so important to push yourself out of your comfort zone to make new friends, but at the end of the day, sometimes you just need your mama and your bff.  God bless FaceTime, iMessage and Snapchat!  Be intentional with the time you have, and be transparent about how hard adjustment has been.

Adventure isn’t always a straight path from point A to B.  You may deviate from the trail and take two steps forward, three steps back.  Acknowledge the difficulty of homesickness and culture shock, and be kind to yourself.  And soon enough, you’ll feel more at home.

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Hi, I'm Kristin. I'm a content creator teaching English in southern France. I'm all about exploring new places, practicing my French and sharing blogging tips. Allez-viens!
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Hi, I'm Kristin. I'm a content creator teaching English in southern France. I'm all about exploring new places, practicing my French and sharing blogging tips. Allez-viens!
learn more about my story

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Let's talk crushes😍Ever been somewhere that giv Let's talk crushes😍Ever been somewhere that gives you butterflies in your tummy and a warm sensation in your heart? Truly all the signs of a crush, but it's a place, not a person.

🛤️This weekend I visited Bordeaux for the first time, and let me tell you, I am ~CrUsHiNg~ This charming city sported a vibrant attitude, and its cobblestone streets leaked hints of modernity and irreverence. @ToriHantak and I strolled the streets, and we just looked at each other and said, "I am in love with this place."

💗From the kindest wine shop owner who was eager to chat about our move to France to the cute, old man at the boucherie who jokingly invited himself to our charcuterie night, Tor and I were smitten.

🍷We drank wine in our jammies, ate ice cream in a bubbly square and sauntered along La Garonne. For a few moments, life felt normal. Two young twenty-something gal pals running around southern France, giggling endlessly and getting impromptu piercings.

💟Ever have those moments in crush-worthy places that send you into an enchanting trance? I will cherish this dreamy Bordeaux weekend with a sweet college friend.
__
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Do we have any adrenaline junkies here?🙋The one Do we have any adrenaline junkies here?🙋The one who loved the thrill of the high diving board growing up? The human who loves being thrown every which way on a rollercoaster? The person who wants to skydiving for their birthday?

💥Sometimes I like that adrenaline rush, but when it really comes down to it, I like being comfortable. It's so much easier to stay in the familiar: the same routine, town, friends, furniture arrangement.

😐It's really hard to step outside your comfort zone and do something hard, even if you know it's good for you. But that's where growth and discovery happen!

Last year, I moved to France to teach English. Yes, during a global pandemic🙈 

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One year ago, @torihantak and I were in a freezing One year ago, @torihantak and I were in a freezing cold queue line to get into crowded, sweaty bar👀 Just a few weeks before the world turned upside down.

We’d taken several French classes together and recently submitted our TAPIF applications to teach English in France.

We dreamed that night with our fun French exchange pal @manon_salgues about all the amazing adventures we’d have in Europe together over our hard apple ciders and vodka Sprites.

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Sure, this year hasn’t looked the way we expected, but what a sweet privilege it is to look back and see how our leap of faith has allowed us to follow our dreams.

Je suis trop reconnaissante pour les amis comme Tori avec qui je peux rêver et vivre la vie française✨
Say YES more💯A few weeks ago, I was bopping aro Say YES more💯A few weeks ago, I was bopping around LinkedIn, which isn't too typical these days. I happened to notice that there was a connection recommendation for a girl I went to high school with. I didn't know her too well in high school — I can't recall any specific conversation or even a certain class we had together — but her title was English Teaching Assistant.

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💬We quickly connected on WhatsApp and decided to meet up in Lyon this past weekend. We drank good wine, ate amazing Thai food, saw the sights and froze our lil booties off in the snow.

🌎Quel petit monde ! The world is a lot smaller than we give it credit for. Don't be afraid to say yes and to slide into someone's LinkedIn DMs because you might just make a new friend, or rather reconnect with an old acquaintance.

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How has travel grown you as a human?🌏 Travel h How has travel grown you as a human?🌏

Travel has introduced me to people from literally all over the world. I think about the summer I spent in Toulouse, France, where I lived in a « foyer » , which is basically a long-term hostel.

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I lived, dined and block partied with people from Poland, Syria, Uzbekistan, China, Spain, Germany, Comoros, Guinea — the list goes on and ON!

It helped me understand that my way of life was not everybody's way of life. And that's not a bad thing! It was so special to make friends from all over the world, and that experience gave me perspective. Stepping out of your comfort zones through travel + cultural immersion is truly one of the best ways to grow💯

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Home decor pro tip: Repurpose what you already hav Home decor pro tip: Repurpose what you already have💯

🌴When I traveled to Nice, I picked up a map of my French department, and it just sat in my armoire for months. I just didn’t know what to do with it, until I got my shelf. 

🗺️I had this inkling of an idea to put the map behind the open shelf. And I immediately fell in love with its muted yet classy touch to my shelf. I simply taped my map to the back of the shelf; consider layering another if it’s not long enough. Subtle yet chic (*queue the track of the Grinch saying "ooh, ahh, mmm" iykyk)

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Sometimes the best trips are the ones not filled w Sometimes the best trips are the ones not filled with endless activities but with low-key nights of rom coms and charcuterie boards❤️

If you've ever met me, you know I'm a go, go, go kinda girl. Like, where are the brakes?😂And when it comes to travel, I'm always thinking about how I can do more, see more, taste more, experience more.

But several weekends ago, I visited a college friend in Narbonne, a small town nearby. We took a mini day trip to (also) nearby Carcassonne, but truth be told, not much was open. At first, I felt a little defeated that this spot on my bucket list had little to offer, thanks to Covid😢

💡But then I started to shift my perspective. I got to walk around a medieval town and talk about life with a friend I've known for 5 years. I got to explore her town, make the most delectable charcuterie board you ever did see, watch a chick flick in our jammies and take a long, sunny walk along the river.

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🌹Wake up and smell the roses because blessings still abound. Even things as simple as laughter, walks, sunshine, ocean views, a good glass of wine and tv shows that make us feel like we're really there.

My Enneagram 3 has struggled to accept this slower pace of life, but I've been working on taking it day by day and living in the present⭐

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