#14 Culture Shock and Homesick

Hello everyone! Welcome back to my blog. 

During the last week of my English course, we discussed culture shock and homesick. Therefore, today I am going to write about my experiences with it; and I will also give some tips on how to handle homesickness. Let us get started!

First, let us talk about culture shock. According to the Cambridge dictionary, it means a feeling of confusion felt by someone visiting a country or place that they do not know. It is usually experienced by people who have travelled abroad to work, live or study; it can also be felt to a certain extent when abroad on holiday. I, myself, have experienced it during my first months in Germany.

The one shock that I am still struggling with right now is the way people greet or call each other names. In my country, we would have another word for calling someone older than us. For example, the word Ka, the short form of Kakak, is to call the older sister. There is also the word Pak, the short form of Bapak, to call an older man. For some people, it may seem weird, but that is the way of greeting people in Indonesia. It shows that we respect that person. 

Therefore, when I first arrived in Germany, I was hesitating of calling someone’s name because I am afraid if I just call their first name, they will think that I am rude. However, I realized later that I do not have to be afraid because those kinds of greetings are not necessary in Germany. Other than that, I do not really have a massive culture shock. I only sometimes miss my local foods back at home. 

Talking about that, let us now talk about homesick. According to the Cambridge dictionary, homesick is an unhappy feeling because of being away from home for a long period. I am not going to lie that I have experienced homesick. I mean, who does not? Especially if that person is living far away from his/her home. I will normally feel homesick when I am alone in my room and not doing anything. During my first months of living alone abroad in Germany, I sometimes will teared up after I talked to my parents on the phone. However, I think I have passed those times; and now I want to give some tips that may be helpful to help your homesickness. 

The first thing that I do when I feel homesick is distracting myself with anything. Homesick can feel much worse when one is not doing anything, so make sure to keep yourself busy with useful things. Next, one may feel angry or frustrated about the new culture. At this stage, one may be conscious of how much he/she dislikes it compared to home. Do not worry because this is a normal feeling. Try to look at things from the other point of view, or try to look at the bright side. This could be a chance to explore the new culture better. 

Homesick is a normal thing but do not let this feeling goes on, because after all, things will get better at the end. For me, right now “home” is not a place anymore; it is where I feel at ease. 

How about you? Have you ever felt culture shock or homesick? And how do you handle it? You can write it in the comment section below! Well, that is all for today and see you in my next post.