I have thought about homesickness a lot this year, not just because I was spending half the year away from home, but also because my family moved out of our home this year. When we moved out I was sad, I didn’t want to leave that house, and even though we moved somewhere in the same town I thought I would be homesick. Leaving home to come here to Denmark I thought the same thing, I would miss my house. I have come to realize that being homesick is not longing for a physical place, but for the people who are there.
“Home is where the heart is” is a quote that is said all the time, and sometimes it takes being away from home for so long to realize that it is very true. “Home” can be a specific place, a city or a town, or even your childhood home, but it is not that place that made you feel at home, it was the experiences you had there, the relationships you made and the memories you have of that place.
Being in another country there have been many things I have missed from back home, like the food, mainly the restaurants (Chick-fil-a), having stores that you can get everything you need at, being able to drive, and a lot more. But I have realized that what I was most homesick for was my friends and family.
I miss hugging my parents
I miss sitting around for hours talking about anything and everything with my friends
I miss going on random adventures with friends because we are bored
I miss my mom’s cooking and eating dinner with my family
I have found that the times I am most homesick is when I am traveling, because I just want to share these experiences with my friends and family from back home. I will see something that would remind me of someone and want them to be there with me.
While I do find myself longing for my own big bed, I don’t find myself wanting to be in one specific place.
Home is where I am comfortable
Home is where I can be with people I love
Home is where the heart is
According to these things I have many homes, Pittsburgh is where I was born and lived for 11 years, Plano is where my parents are and where I went to middle and high school, Fayetteville is where I go to university and where I have made some of my best friends. I consider all these places my home, and there are so many more places where family and friends live that I could consider home as well.
I will now call Aarhus my home as well, after being here for almost four months I have grown to love this place and the people here. And since making friends from all around Europe I know I will have a home in all these places.
Homesickness can be hard to handle sometimes, but it is good to have something to miss. Being away from home allows you to realize all the little things you never thought you would miss. And in a way will make you appreciate those things more when you get back home.
I have been homesick while being in Denmark, but I know when I go back to the US I will be homesick for Denmark. That is because I will have left a place that has had such an impact on my life.
I have found that surrounding yourself with amazing friends and keeping busy by exploring is the best way to fight being homesick. Also it is the best way to make yourself at home in a new place.
This is one of my favorite quotes about home:
It takes hands to build a house, but only hearts can build a home. ~Author Unknown
No matter where you are, if you leave part of your heart in that place it is your home. My heart is in so many places with people I love, so it is hard to be homesick for one specific place, but I am so grateful to have people to be homesick for.
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| Aarhus from the Aros museum |
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Read more from Jennifer at https://jenniferbuss.wordpress.com/
To find out more about the Walton college exchange program in Aarhus, visit http://studyabroad.uark.edu/exchange/wcobaarhus/Read more from Jennifer at https://jenniferbuss.wordpress.com/
