Holidays and Homesickness
Leaving home is not the easiest thing in the world to do. When I left on my adventure, I had never been away from home for more than a month....and now I was going to be gone for a year or more!! I was never scared...or at least in the beginning I wasn't, but now looking back on that time I know it was because I was in shock.
Shock is the best way to describe how I felt. I had decided to go on this adventure...but I don't think I ever really realized what I was doing until I was in Korea for about a month. Yes I knew I was leaving, and I was prepared, but I didn't really know what that meant at the time.
Everyone says that you won't get homesick until about your third month away from home...and you know what, they are right. For the first three months everything was new and exciting...I really didn't have time to think about home. But then everything settles down and reality hits. For some this happens sooner, and others it happens later or never. I was the classic case though...three months. All of a sudden, I am sitting in the bar one day, and I started crying. My best friend at the time turned to me and said "oh you are homesick!" Now I didn't believe him at first, then I realized he was right! I was homesick! So for about a week I walked around in a daze, ran up my phone bill, wrote a lot, and cried a lot! And then it was over! I felt better, took a step towards my future, and continued on with my life.
Then the holidays hit. Holidays can be the best or worst, it all depends on what you make it. For me, I had never missed a holiday, and now I was going to miss all of them. You just have to keep telling yourself to have fun. I tried to be as busy as possible with friends, write my family, and do my normal holiday shopping. In the end, I was sad to be away from home, but I made it. The worst thing you can do on the holidays is be alone. Make sure you have many friends around you, and you will do fine. It is true also that the longer you stay here the easier it gets, but I will warn you, if you are going home soon then you will get very edgy a few months before you leave. Don't worry it is normal and we all go through it.
In 26 years I had never been away from home...but I am alive, happy, and enjoying myself in the process!