One of my Chinese classmates at language school asked me recently if I ever get homesick. It took me a while to come up with a good answer, because I can't remember being homesick since college. In college, a dorm room was just a temporary place to lay my head until I went back to my parents' house during the summer.
Living abroad, as a lifestyle, is a very different mindset. I had to tell Li-san, that, no, I don't get homesick, because I have a home here. Right now, Kyoto is where my life is. Going back to the US after I graduate here will not so much be returning home, as much as it is moving on to the next stage of my life; my next home. On the other hand, the wonderful thing about being a nomad like I am is that I can return home to Minnesota, Oberlin, Los Angeles, DC, or even Dharmsala. Returning to Kansai to study this fall felt like coming home too.
That isn't to say that I don't miss certain things about the various homes I left behind. Especially today, Christmas Eve, I miss the candlelight dinner with my family and singing with the choir at the Christmas Eve services at our church. I miss the ever-present music at Oberlin. I miss the smell of spices on the air at dinner time in India and the majesty of the Himalayas. I miss California avocados and the LA fashion district. I miss the AU library and the amazing consortium loan service that can get me any book I ask for.
More than places and things, though, I miss people. It is a double-edged sword that I have amazing friends literally all over the world now. My friends aren't just in the places I have lived, but like me, have continued their travels around the globe. Nearly anywhere I go, I'll be able to find someone I know. But at any given time, the majority of my friends are far away. Thank goodness for the internet and the international postal services. I am truly blessed to have the friends that I do that are willing to pick up where we left off when I drop through town or send an email in passing.
The thing with being homesick, is that there's very little you can do about it. You have to stay where you are and stick it out. On the other hand, missing friends is something you can do something about. Granted, we haven't figured out instantaneous teleportation yet, but it is easy today to pick up a phone, write an email, call someone on skype, send them a silly gif on facebook, or even put pen to paper and write them a letter, as I have been known to do.
I know from my own experience that it is easy to get wrapped up in life and forget about the friends I've left behind in the busier moments, but it is so important to me that whenever the thought comes to my mind "I wonder how so-and-so is doing..." that I try to take action on that thought and try to find out.
Friends, never doubt that, even when I am far away, you are still very important to me, and I miss you. I can't wait to get to see you again.
Living abroad, as a lifestyle, is a very different mindset. I had to tell Li-san, that, no, I don't get homesick, because I have a home here. Right now, Kyoto is where my life is. Going back to the US after I graduate here will not so much be returning home, as much as it is moving on to the next stage of my life; my next home. On the other hand, the wonderful thing about being a nomad like I am is that I can return home to Minnesota, Oberlin, Los Angeles, DC, or even Dharmsala. Returning to Kansai to study this fall felt like coming home too.
That isn't to say that I don't miss certain things about the various homes I left behind. Especially today, Christmas Eve, I miss the candlelight dinner with my family and singing with the choir at the Christmas Eve services at our church. I miss the ever-present music at Oberlin. I miss the smell of spices on the air at dinner time in India and the majesty of the Himalayas. I miss California avocados and the LA fashion district. I miss the AU library and the amazing consortium loan service that can get me any book I ask for.
More than places and things, though, I miss people. It is a double-edged sword that I have amazing friends literally all over the world now. My friends aren't just in the places I have lived, but like me, have continued their travels around the globe. Nearly anywhere I go, I'll be able to find someone I know. But at any given time, the majority of my friends are far away. Thank goodness for the internet and the international postal services. I am truly blessed to have the friends that I do that are willing to pick up where we left off when I drop through town or send an email in passing.
The thing with being homesick, is that there's very little you can do about it. You have to stay where you are and stick it out. On the other hand, missing friends is something you can do something about. Granted, we haven't figured out instantaneous teleportation yet, but it is easy today to pick up a phone, write an email, call someone on skype, send them a silly gif on facebook, or even put pen to paper and write them a letter, as I have been known to do.
I know from my own experience that it is easy to get wrapped up in life and forget about the friends I've left behind in the busier moments, but it is so important to me that whenever the thought comes to my mind "I wonder how so-and-so is doing..." that I try to take action on that thought and try to find out.
Friends, never doubt that, even when I am far away, you are still very important to me, and I miss you. I can't wait to get to see you again.
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