Deciding to travel is a big and exciting decision. Booking a trip (or a move) somewhere knowing you will get to meet new people and see new places is thrilling. I find that when traveling, it is easy to sometimes become sucked into what you are doing and to in turn forget about what you would be doing or who you would be with if you were home. Though staying in the present moment is not always that easy. Often the feeling of nostalgia comes on hard and quick. Missing home, your family, friends, pets or routine is never an easy thing to deal with, especially when you are miles and miles away. Whether you start to feel that way 6 months into your trip or as soon as you get on the airplane, being homesick is a very real and at times overwhelming feeling.
Traveling is such a brave, enlightening and eye-opening thing to do. But it can also leave you feeling wistful or downright sad. Knowing that this is usually a feeling I get when I travel, I like to prepare for it and remember these tips to help me find some familiarity in what is foreign.
- Carry something sentimental- Bring something near and dear to your heart from home. When I travel I always bring a key chain with me that my mom gave me when I was young. As silly as it sounds, it makes me feel like I have even a little piece of home with me.
- Take special pictures – To help you feel more connected to the people in your life back home, take some special photos. If it is a specific person or group of people (girlfriend, boyfriend, mom, dad, whoever) that you miss, take some photos just for them. Some custom photos that they get to see before the hundreds of your Facebook friends. You could take a picture on a mountain top with a handmade sign that says there name on it, or in front of a big landmark with your special someones shirt on. You could take something random of theirs, like a hat or sock (because what is more romantic than a sock) and hold it in every cool picture you take.
- Find familiar food – Find some good, cozy, comfort food. Whatever that may be for you. I know traveling is about experiencing the new and not about eating what you always eat back home, but a good ole hamburger and fries tastes pretty darn good when you are feeling homesick.
- Bring the smell of home with you – Bring a small pillow or blanket with you that you sleep with at home. I have a tiny pillow that smells like lavender that I like to bring with me. It smells good, and if I wake up in the middle of the night in a foreign hostel, it helps me get back to sleep.
- Stick to your routine – Take an hour, or a full day to do something that makes you feel good. If you usually go to yoga once a week, try and find a local studio wherever you are. Or if you like to go running in the evenings, take some time for yourself to do just that. While traveling, routines pretty much go out the window which is why it is nice and comforting to do something you usually do back home.
- Talk to family–or don’t – For some, spending time calling or facetiming with their loved ones helps them get over feeling blue. Keeping up with what your friends and family are doing may comfort you while being so far. For me on the other hand, talking to my friends or family every day makes me feel worse. I want to hear about and talk about the big stuff, some days there is just not that many cool things going on. Sounds bad, but only talking to them every few days (or weeks) really makes it that much more special!
Anybody else have any tips that help them when feeling homesick or dealing with unfamiliarity? Would love to hear!
Under the Latin Sun 