Not Homesick Anymore

Not homesick anymore? Not homesick.... why would I even be homesick in the first place?  Strange thought, even for me.  I was definitely not expecting to be homesick.  I travel all over, and I've been overseas for a month or more at a time.  I have earned my place as a seasoned traveler, never to be affected by travel woes.

Wrong.

Homesickness happens.  And it really stinks.  Please accept my sincerest apologies if you were ever homesick and I didn't show much sympathy.  I definitely didn't get it before.  Regardless of how prepared, how many times you've traveled before, how exotic and far flung your travel has been, there is nothing comparable between going on a trip for a month (or two, or three) and being gone for a year or more.   You probably knew that already.  Somehow, I didn't have any idea that it would be different. I haven't even gone anywhere that crazy.  I'm not in danger where I live, I speak the same language at home as I do in my new country, and I usually know what food I am buying before I buy it.  Life works pretty much the same way here as it does at home.  So why be homesick?

Oh right.  All my friends and family are at home.  It really all boils down to that.  I do miss various physical things, like my cute little apartment in the States, or my car (I still expect to go home and see it sitting there even though I sold it), the church I attend and got married in, the beach, the mountains...  But more than the physical things I miss my upstairs neighbors, all the friends and family I drove to see, the people that I attend church with, and the friends and family I have gone adventuring with.

Its all about the people.  So, no surprise that homesickness would begin to abate once I started connecting with people here.  Friends in my hall, friends at church, friends I met at various international student events (I'm the international! WEIRD!), friends I go running with, friends I watch movies with, friends I drink tea and talk for 5 hours with, friends I go grocery shopping with....

So.  I'm not homesick anymore.  I'm happy to say it, because it means I can enjoy the history and culture of England without the burning desire to hop aboard the nearest plane, boat, bus, submarine, sea turtle or snail that looks like it might be headed west.

If you haven't heard much from me in the last two months, I think you can safely assume that I was rather homesick.  And it made me feel rather antisocial, especially for those that I care the most about.  So please forgive me, and just know that you
are incredibly missed.  See you in 10 months!

PS.  Sam's not homesick anymore either