Home away from home... the struggles
Do you sometimes feel down because you wish you were back in your home country? Are the strange cultures and food of another country finally getting to you?
Teaching or studying overseas can at times lead to homesickness. More than likely, you will have experienced homesickness if you have lived overseas for an extended period of time.
It's been interesting to note however, due to the advances in the internet and cheap telephone calls, homesickness is not as tough as it used to be.
Manfred, a
Chinese student in Taiwan, had this to say:
Everynow and then, I so much wish I could just sit back on the front porch of my parents home, looking over the green pastures and listening to the sounds of nature. Instead, here I am sitting in my tiny apartment with an idiot box (aka TV) which I cannot understand.
Being in different surrounds, with different faces, strange foods, a language you cannot understand are some of the pressures facing those studying and teaching abroad.
Sure the internet and cheap phonecalls now help, but don't be surprised if you find yourself becoming homesick when overseas. It happens to all of us, even the most experienced of travellers.