It's been over a week since I've arrived in the Netherlands and it's been a couple days since my parents and I parted ways: them back home to Canada and me back to my residence in Maastricht.
It's strange to be away from home. Throughout the week I had my parents by my side to help navigate through the towns and through living abroad. Now that they're a 9-hour flight plus a 2.5-hour train ride away, it's suddenly hit me that I now have to navigate this alone. Although there's a huge international student population here in the city (meaning I'm probably not the only kid who's homesick after a week), it feels like everyone I've met is eager and excited to be here. Meanwhile, my brain is trying to convince me that coming here was all one big mistake. I know that in a few days -- or weeks -- I'll start to adjust to life on my own, but right now, it seems like an impossible task.
Even though my parents have said that if I wanted to come home, they would support me wholly, I know that if I were to leave before the semester is over, I will have failed. Failed not only in terms of academics but in the expectations I (and others) have set on me. Coming home early is not an option. As my mom has said, "You've made your bed, now you must lie in it." I intend to follow through with this whole ordeal! Hopefully, I don't spend all my time lying in bed though... that's probably unhealthy.
While it's true that I did go through all of this work and planning to come here (and I hope to make the most of it), it's certainly not easy wandering around the streets of Maastricht, walking through the campus or my dorm, or sitting in my room knowing how far away I am from everyone I know and love. And it's really not fun to be walking around feeling like your heart is going to explode and constantly feeling like you're on the verge of tears, ready to break at the drop of a hat. I walked into a grocery store and felt so overwhelmed and raw that I almost cried in the condiments aisle. Clean up on aisle 3!!
(lol im so dramatic)
But for real, this is hard. I haven't been here for long and I already feel like this is too much. There are not enough things to distract me. Not enough people I know well enough. Not enough songs and movies. Not enough schoolwork (actually, I have to do a lot of readings but getting and staying motivated is hard). Not enough familiarity. Sometimes I wonder why I ever thought I could do this.
BUT I CAN! SOMEHOW! I'LL MAKE IT THROUGH! PROBABLY.
ANYHOO TIPS ON HOW TO SURVIVE BEING HOMESICK (some tips taken from gooverseas.com and some of my own)
- you TELL ME!!
- No, but seriously
- Get out of the house (even if you don't have a destination in mind, it's nice walking around and getting familiar with the streets and the city.)
- Make a bucket list! where do you wanna go? what do you wanna see? what do you wanna try? It can be hard to try to plan trips when you have school (Maastricht University does not make it easy to travel and also attend school but also I'm not great at time management lolol) but day trips or weekend trips are almost always doable!
- Create a routine. not just waking up at the same time every day and cooking dinner at the same time, but even an event that you can do once a week! like pizza with friends/roommates every friday
- Exercise! (even if it's just walking around your room stretching -- don't stay seated forever!)
- Schedule some "me" time and work on your mental health (I predict many "me" days cuz that's who I am as a person but I will force myself to go out)
- Learn a new skill (OR hone a skill you already have) (I miss my piano... time to find a new skill!)
- Find someone from your home country! (this has actually really helped. I've met a few people from home and we talk about how the culture is different and how we are adjusting)
- Talk to others about how you're feeling! (I am never that great at doing this but just talking to one of my classmates about how overwhelmed I felt -- and to hear that she also feels the same way! -- was reassuring.
- Singing (literally. I was feeling miserable and started listening to my upbeat playlist and singing and it brightened my mood; note to self: stop listening to sad songs!!)
- Dancing (play music and dance. be respectul to roommates though... might not want to do this past a certain time of the day)
- Cry (it's okay to feel sad and it's okay to cry. Crying helps release the emotions you're feeling and it also releases chemicals that help you feel better! there's a reason why after a good cry you (sometimes anyways) feel a sense of relief).
- Take advantage of the resources your school offers (UM offers the ability to book an appointment with a student psychologist who you can talk to about a variety of issues!)
wish me luck
okay bye
- jaime
title inspo: https://open.spotify.com/track/01SfTM5nfCou5gQL70r6gs?si=UWIz24xkSx6RdNmEGZgyXA
It's strange to be away from home. Throughout the week I had my parents by my side to help navigate through the towns and through living abroad. Now that they're a 9-hour flight plus a 2.5-hour train ride away, it's suddenly hit me that I now have to navigate this alone. Although there's a huge international student population here in the city (meaning I'm probably not the only kid who's homesick after a week), it feels like everyone I've met is eager and excited to be here. Meanwhile, my brain is trying to convince me that coming here was all one big mistake. I know that in a few days -- or weeks -- I'll start to adjust to life on my own, but right now, it seems like an impossible task.
Even though my parents have said that if I wanted to come home, they would support me wholly, I know that if I were to leave before the semester is over, I will have failed. Failed not only in terms of academics but in the expectations I (and others) have set on me. Coming home early is not an option. As my mom has said, "You've made your bed, now you must lie in it." I intend to follow through with this whole ordeal! Hopefully, I don't spend all my time lying in bed though... that's probably unhealthy.
While it's true that I did go through all of this work and planning to come here (and I hope to make the most of it), it's certainly not easy wandering around the streets of Maastricht, walking through the campus or my dorm, or sitting in my room knowing how far away I am from everyone I know and love. And it's really not fun to be walking around feeling like your heart is going to explode and constantly feeling like you're on the verge of tears, ready to break at the drop of a hat. I walked into a grocery store and felt so overwhelmed and raw that I almost cried in the condiments aisle. Clean up on aisle 3!!
But for real, this is hard. I haven't been here for long and I already feel like this is too much. There are not enough things to distract me. Not enough people I know well enough. Not enough songs and movies. Not enough schoolwork (actually, I have to do a lot of readings but getting and staying motivated is hard). Not enough familiarity. Sometimes I wonder why I ever thought I could do this.
BUT I CAN! SOMEHOW! I'LL MAKE IT THROUGH! PROBABLY.
ANYHOO TIPS ON HOW TO SURVIVE BEING HOMESICK (some tips taken from gooverseas.com and some of my own)
- you TELL ME!!
- No, but seriously
- Get out of the house (even if you don't have a destination in mind, it's nice walking around and getting familiar with the streets and the city.)
- Make a bucket list! where do you wanna go? what do you wanna see? what do you wanna try? It can be hard to try to plan trips when you have school (Maastricht University does not make it easy to travel and also attend school but also I'm not great at time management lolol) but day trips or weekend trips are almost always doable!
- Create a routine. not just waking up at the same time every day and cooking dinner at the same time, but even an event that you can do once a week! like pizza with friends/roommates every friday
- Exercise! (even if it's just walking around your room stretching -- don't stay seated forever!)
- Schedule some "me" time and work on your mental health (I predict many "me" days cuz that's who I am as a person but I will force myself to go out)
- Learn a new skill (OR hone a skill you already have) (I miss my piano... time to find a new skill!)
- Find someone from your home country! (this has actually really helped. I've met a few people from home and we talk about how the culture is different and how we are adjusting)
- Talk to others about how you're feeling! (I am never that great at doing this but just talking to one of my classmates about how overwhelmed I felt -- and to hear that she also feels the same way! -- was reassuring.
- Singing (literally. I was feeling miserable and started listening to my upbeat playlist and singing and it brightened my mood; note to self: stop listening to sad songs!!)
- Dancing (play music and dance. be respectul to roommates though... might not want to do this past a certain time of the day)
- Cry (it's okay to feel sad and it's okay to cry. Crying helps release the emotions you're feeling and it also releases chemicals that help you feel better! there's a reason why after a good cry you (sometimes anyways) feel a sense of relief).
- Take advantage of the resources your school offers (UM offers the ability to book an appointment with a student psychologist who you can talk to about a variety of issues!)
wish me luck
okay bye
- jaime
title inspo: https://open.spotify.com/track/01SfTM5nfCou5gQL70r6gs?si=UWIz24xkSx6RdNmEGZgyXA
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