So it is now the middle of week 2. A lot has happened in a short amount of time. I am finally now officially settled in. I have completed practically all my forms, got everything sorted out with the bank, am working on assignments regularly, am now enrolled in all my classes, bought everything I have practically needed to buy, have signed up for all the societies and sports I want to do, am eating regularly, and finally over the "fresher flu". It has been rather hectic but I have made a lot of really cool friends, have made trips at midnight to do laundry, have figured out the bus system, have mock assassinated someone, have almost had a debate with a teacher about the merits of optimism, made a trip out of town, and done some karate. It has really been a lot of fun and I got over the transition phase a lot faster than I thought I would. I do have plenty more time here, to pick up Briticisms, laugh with my friends, and work hard in classes, but I must say I will miss this place. Now having gone through everything, including culture shock and home sickness, I highly recommend doing this exchange to any interested individual. It is even possible for upcoming seniors, I am one and I actually am doing a phone interview with a company in the states this Friday. Oh, before I go into the other topic of this post, I have another Ellie-ism, "I cannot see the pasta from the noodles". Just try to imagine about 5 college students with raised eyebrows blatantly staring at her with confused expressions. It was pretty comical. Now that I am settled, I am going to try to update more regularly, but I cannot promise that since things can get really hectic.
Now then for the topic of the day...."How to combat home-sickness".
Home sickness generally affects everyone at some point or another when they have to be away from home for an extended period of time. For some it can take two days for home sickness to appear, for others 2 weeks, and still for others an indefinite amount of time. To be honest, I really envy those who do not experience it. I am generally get it off and on during the first 20 percent of the time I will be away and I have gone away to Cornell several times (I hail from North Carolina) and now obviously I have gone to England. Having said this, I have developed some strategies that help me and may help you one day:
1. Do not think about it. In practice, this is generally hard to do. It is hard to stop thinking about something, even if you tell yourself to stop, but it can be done. I try meditating and focus on nothing and sometime it does work. Although by itself it is not very effective, it is effective in conjunction with other methods.
2. Get your mind off. This is similar to the first but instead of just telling yourself not to think about it, you actually try to distract yourself. This can be done by listening to music, watching a movie, going for a walk, talking with local friends, doing some sort of sport, working on homework, reading a book, etc. Really anything that can distract you, works.
3. Stay busy. Fill up your schedule, although this may seem like an idea that would just add to your overall stress because of the what-ifs (what if I take on too much? what if i cannot get my work done? what if i do not get enough food/sleep/quiet time/etc?), it is actually a very successful strategy that I accidently implemented back in the Spring. I had an absolute crazy academic schedule with Labor law and a writing intensive English course on top of my other courses and being casted in a play. Needless to say I would generally go from Friday to Friday realizing that I had not really had a chance to think since the previous Friday and I will say to me now, it is a blur. However, it was still effective, I just did not have time to think about being away from home and pretty soon it was thankfully the end of term and I kept my grades up. Still wondering about how I managed that....anyway....
4. Talk to family. Sometimes the best remedy is to call your Mom, Dad, sister, brother, grandparents, uncle, aunt, cousin, spouse, lover, boyfriend, girlfriend etc. Sometimes it can help just to hear their voice and know that everything is going alright with them. It is especially nice with my family and fiancé since they are all extremely supportive. A strong support network can go a long way.
5. My last tip for today: Talk to a friend. Call up a friend from home or message them on Facebook or Myspace or whatever it is you use to contact your friends. Hearing from a friend back home can be comforting and it is of course a great way to stay in touch. You can also talk to friends where you are or otherwise those around you. Chances are they have been there before and know what it is like. They can lend a sympathetic ear or maybe you can vent together. Who knows, maybe they can even share there own tips for getting over it.
One more thing....Do not forget it will pass. That is all for today. As they say at Warwick, Keep Calm and Carry On! Cheers!
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