Staying Connected with Home!

When studying abroad I feel like people do not talk about homesickness, or just how normal it is. Since being here I have not felt any truly awful homesickness because I have figured out how to stay connected with all of the people I care about back in the United States!

The first thing I believe you need to make sure you are thinking about when feeling like you miss home and family is that they miss you just as much as you miss them if not more. They may support you and want you to go experience the world but they also miss you endlessly. There isn't anyone from home who is not jealous of what you are doing, so feel free to call them and let them know everything you are doing because they want to hear about it! You need to make sure when you are calling you are checking your time differences so you are not calling them at 2:00 in the morning but other than that, more likely than not they are going to answer your phone call because of how much they miss you! Also, your family is going to text you every day because they want to know what is going on with you, you may be worried before you leave about staying connected with your family but it should not be a worry of yours because parents and close relatives will make sure they are texting you constantly. Trust me.

Staying connected with your friends is a much different story. You used to see your friends every single day and oftentimes lived with them during the school year. I know it was difficult for me to realize that I would not be able to talk to them every day, but if your friends are truly your friends they will find a way to make sure that they talk to you. My friends and I FaceTime every two weeks where we recap everything that has happened to us in those two weeks. It is honestly more enjoyable because it makes the calls more meaningful when you have something interesting to discuss. I would highly recommend setting something up like this with your friends if you are looking to study abroad and are worried about missing your friends.

Finally, if you are worried about missing all of your friend's birthday's make sure you get them a gift to open on that day so that you can feel like you are part of their day. I personally made my closest friends their 21st birthday signs along with decoupaging a bottle of Prosecco for them because turning 21 in America is such a big deal.

Homesickness is truly not that bad when you think about it. But it is real, and it should be talked about! To stay connected you need to make sure that you reach out to the people closest to you because they will reach out to you the same way.

I hope this has helped anyone nervous about staying connected with friends and family while studying abroad. If you have any questions about it feel free to message me on instagram!

xx

Ainsley Porter

Instagram:

@ainsleyporte.r

Day Trip to Wales

Cold, Windy, Rainy

Study Abroad Friends!

Beautiful Waterfall in Wales