Three ways to beat homesickness

By Yin Yin Wu

Leaving your friends and family behind and getting thrown into a new culture is an intimidating process. 

Whilst it will be the best time of your life, it is totally normal for you to go through waves of being homesick, especially when you start to miss your mum’s hearty meals.

You CAN beat the homesickness to ensure that you won’t forget to enjoy the ride of living abroad.


1. Perspective

I found it quite helpful for me to put living abroad in perspective. Although I did miss home whilst I was studying in France for a year, I remembered that my time in the capital of cheese was limited and that I had to make the most of it!

2. Say yes to things you wouldn’t usually do at home

It is easy to fall in the trap of being an antisocial couch potato watching netflix at home. However, this is your year to be adventurous! Say yes to eating that questionable cultural delicacy, yes to the road trip, yes to joining that club and yes to going to that party. In the end, you are not going to remember being at home but what you will remember is that fun party where you met all your new besties and tasted a food that you now love.

3. Have reminders of home

Hang up some photos of your friends and family back at home. This will ease you into the process of adapting to this new and unfamiliar environment. Also, it’s a nice way to decorate your new space.
Although living abroad can be a hard process, by the end of it, your new country will start feeling like a second home that you can come back to.

Enjoy the process!

Photo by Holly Mandarich on Unsplash