Because I know you have been anxiously awaiting my follow-up blog about homesickness, here it is. And guess what – it is about you! That’s right, the other type of homesickness I have felt here in Ireland is the feeling of missing my family and friends back home.
Packing two bags and relocating to a new country for five months brings many challenges and one of the hardest ones I faced was meeting new people and finding new friends. I have never been a fan of being thrown into a situation with people I am not good friends with but I am hoping after this semester I will be a bit better at meeting new people. I am extremely lucky to have Lindsay to spend my semester abroad with, but believe it or not, we do actually enjoy other people’s company as well. Finding those people was the tricky part though. Forming relationships with people takes time and it was hard not to have the same type of support I have back home. I have known my friends for ages and if you’ve ever met my family, you are aware of what a unique type of support they offer…laughter is the cure for everything, is it not?
The homesickness I felt for my family and friends was more difficult to cope with than my scratchy duvet. Thankfully, with the help of the amazing worldwide web, it has been easy to keep in touch with everyone back home. Facebook and Skype are the two main ways I communicate with friends and family although I am still a huge fan of sending and receiving (*hint hint*) snail mail. It is wonderful to use Skype and see my parents at home or my friends at school. It almost feels like I never left. I say almost because I was reminded of how far away I truly am when my mother made me give her a hug over Skype before I hung up with her one day. For some reason it just was not the same as an actual hug…
I am happy to report that I have made friends here and I now refer to my apartment, complete with scratchy duvet, as “home.” When I am away on weekend trips I actually miss being at the apartment. As amazing as all of the things I have seen in Ireland are, I still relish in the evenings spent in the kitchen of Apartment 19 drinking tea (of course tea, we are in Ireland) with Fiona, Lindsay, Emma, Mairéad, and myself (Team F.L.E.M.M., perhaps we should coin a better nickname). I am sure that when I go home I will miss my friends here the same way I miss you right now.
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