When I got on the plane to the States I felt apprehensive about many things… living in a tiny space with a complete stranger, gaining weight, or flunking out of school… but I sure did not expect to get homesick. Yeah, we might seem exotic, cool and have something else to bring to the table… however, being an international student isn’t always easy. Here are some moments when we get the most homesick:
1. Family members’ birthdays
It stinks when it’s your mom’s birthday and you can’t celebrate with the whole family. Instead, you must settle for a short facetime chat and hear about all the birthday festivities they have planned without you.
2. Holidays
Yeah… there are many ways to celebrate your national holidays in D.C., but it’s just not the same! My friend Rebecca, who is a Freshman from France, sulked, “The holidays here seem so quiet without the constant political arguments between my family members… They told me AU is politically involved… They haven’t met my family!”
3. When there is an emergency at home
Nothing breaks our hearts more than knowing that something is happening at home and we can’t be there for support. The endless phone calls home at odd hours of the night because of the time difference will directly affect how we feel in class the next day. It’s not as easy to fly home on short notice when your family lives an ocean away.
4. When your family sends you pictures of home cooked meals
There is nothing more aggravating than getting a picture of something your mom has cooked, after eating TDR for two weeks straight. Josue, an international student from Ecuador, said, “my mom teaches how to bake back home, so when she sends me photos of her cakes, it breaks my heart.”
5. When you can’t tell your parents what’s really up…
Since we are geographically so far away, we limit the information we tell our parents in order to prevent them from unnecessary worries. Dean, a Sophomore from China, explains: “I got punched in the face last weekend, and when I FaceTimed my mom, she asked me what was on my face… I had to lie to her and told her it was a bug bite so she wouldn’t worry.”
6. When you haven’t spoken your native language in way too long
It seems like everyone on our campus speaks English or Spanish and if you’re lucky, they speak both. Being from a more exotic country with a smaller student population can put you in the aggravating position where you haven’t said a single word in your native language for weeks.
7. When it is a long weekend and everyone flies home, but if you flew home the weekend would already be over by the time you got there
Nothing sucks more than being the only kid that doesn’t get to go home for Thanksgiving. Jeremy, a Sophomore from China, says: “It takes me 20 hours to get home and the jetlag kills… I only get to see my parents once or twice a year.”
8. When all your friends from home are hanging out without you
There is always a pinch in our hearts whenever we see a group photo of our friends from home. German, a Sophomore from Colombia, shares: “I’ll be in the middle of studying for midterms, and all of my friends from home are snapchatting me from a bar… I can’t even drink in this country!”
9. When you’re sick and your family isn’t there to take care of you
We did everything we could to avoid the freshman plague… However, there wasn’t enough hand sanitizer in the world to prevent the bug. There is nothing an international collegiate wants more when she is sick other than mom’s chicken noodle soup and her bed back home.