It is true, what they all say — moving abroad is amazing in many countless ways. It is an adventure for life, filled with extraordinary experiences, people, and memories that you will forever treasure. However, when the most wonderful time of the year comes around, life abroad might start to feel more frustrating than exciting.
You might find yourself close to tears because the gingerbread cookie doesn’t taste the same as the ones at home, and the carols and traditions you associate with Christmas aren’t a thing here, and the sweets you love aren’t available at the stores, and the weather isn’t your definition of Christmas weather. Does this sound familiar?
For me it does!
I have celebrated three Christmases abroad, apart from my family and Swedish Christmas culture. And although I had an amazing time and celebrated with people I love — I still experienced homesickness. I therefore find this conversation important and want to share some thoughts on coping with homesickness at Christmas.
Admit Your Feelings
One of the things I found helpful was admitting the feelings of homesickness. Try to be honest with yourself and admit if you are feeling sad or frustrated. I often experienced guilt whenever I felt homesick — because there I was, in this awesome place, and all of a sudden I felt sad? Like, what? However, it is okay to feel both things. It is okay to feel excited one minute, and then feel a little blue the next. That is normal.
So, instead of keeping those feelings inside, admit them and try to talk about them. If you have friends who are also exchange students, try to talk to them, because they are most likely feeling the same. You could arrange an evening where you all share how you celebrate Christmas in your home country — where you all cook your favorite Christmas food and share your favorite Christmas carols.
Embrace the Situation
The next thing is to remind yourself that this isn’t forever. This might be the first time that you celebrate Christmas apart from your family and culture, however, it might also be the first and last time that you celebrate the Christmas season on your own as an exchange student. Therefore, try to embrace the situation and make the most out of it!
Approach the season with curiosity and make sure to share what you have learned with friends and family back home. Also, try to talk with your loved ones back home a little extra during the holiday season! Maybe try to arrange some sort of Christmas celebration over the phone, and ask them to send you postcards or sweets from home.
Don’t Compare
Thirdly, try to not compare! The first time that I celebrated Christmas abroad I fully embraced everything about the American Christmas, and absolutely loved how different it was! However, the second time, I started to compare the American Christmas with the Swedish Christmas — and that was a buzzkill. Although I still loved the American traditions, the absence of the Swedish ones made me so sad and frustrated that I started to compare.
So, try to see the situation for what it is and as previously mentioned — embrace and approach with curiosity. Also, include and share your Christmas traditions! Cook your favorite Christmas dish and bring it to the Christmas dinner, or recreate a traditional celebration with your friends or host family.
Surround Yourself With Friends
EDIT’s Head of Design, Hedda, shares that she has celebrated two Christmases abroad and experienced homesickness the first time. To avoid homesickness the second time, Hedda made sure that she was surrounded by friends and kept herself busy the whole day.
— I have always had this idea that Christmas should be this huge thing, which was what caused me to feel homesick on my first Christmas abroad. I therefore decided to treat my second Christmas abroad as a normal day.
— My roommates and I went to this Swedish café in the morning and had breakfast. We never had a huge Christmas dinner or anything like that, but we spent time together and had a lot of fun! Which, in the end, is what Christmas really is all about.
Lots of Christmas love, EDIT.
Writer: Vilma Bovin
