How to deal with University homesickness
Regardless of whether you are a home student or an international student, moving away from home for the first time to go to university is the start of an exciting chapter, but can also be overwhelming.
During your university years you may feel homesick and may want to go home, which we understand for international students is not something they can do spontaneously.
Homesickness is inevitable, we all experience it: but there are ways to help you get through it in a healthy way, until the next time you go home.
Here are three tips that you can uptake to make your homesickness slightly more bearable!
Eat your local home food
Food plays a significant role in your culture and identity.
You may be eating less of your home food during your time at university in the UK as your halls may be catered, or the ingredients are not as accessible to you as it may be back home.
In times when you have a huge craving for your home cuisine, treat yourself! Having a small taste of home will make you feel much closer to your home culture, reminding yourself of family and friends that you will get to see when you go home.
Host a dinner party with your flat mates and cook them an authentic meal or venture out and have a nice meal out at your favourite restaurant that serves your home food.
Build a community
If you are feeling homesick, it is most likely that others are too.
Build a strong community that you can call family.
Surround yourself with friends that are going through the same as you and share your experiences with each other.
Doing this will not only allow you to make friends quickly and build strong relationships with your peers but will also help you feel validated and reassured in your homesickness and remind yourself that it’s okay to feel this way.
It is completely normal.
Make a schedule
A big part of settling into a new environment like university is developing a routine.
The feelings of being lost or anxious about being away from home comes from the abrupt change in lifestyle.
Stepping outside of your comfort zone and starting a new chapter in your life may feel overwhelming but isn’t a bad thing. It’s a good kind of stress, because change is good!
Building a routine that you follow on a regular basis during your time at university, like going to the gym, journaling, or grabbing a weekly coffee with a flat mate - will help you overcome these feelings of anxiety and instead optimise productivity!
We understand that homesickness is hard, especially when your family are on the other side of the world.
But with these tips, you will be able to manage homesickness in a healthier way and still have the best time at university, until you get to go home in the holidays!