For teachers abroad, homesickness often strikes hardest during the holiday season. It’s easy to wallow in those feelings of loneliness when you’re away from all things familiar – and your Facebook feed is full of friends and family enjoying the usual festive traditions back home.
Don’t stress – you can still have a good time spending the holidays abroad! Here are our tips to help you make the most of the festive season this year.
Celebrate with friends.
If you choose to dwell on what you’re missing out on back home, then you’re bound to feel miserable around the holidays. So embrace the festive spirit – don’t let the holidays pass you by! Host a turkey dinner at your place or get a bunch of friends together and head out for a holiday dinner at a local restaurant.
Remember, the holidays can be lonely for many people living abroad, so spread a little kindness around and extend an invitation to people in your wider social group who you might not know very well, who may otherwise be spending the holidays alone.
Recreate your holiday traditions.
Don’t abandon the traditions you miss the most; keep them alive by sharing them with your new local friends. Make your favorite festive dish together, throw a holiday dance party, binge watch your favorite holiday films. Get your students involved, too! Teach them your favorite holiday tune and have a singalong.
Don’t forget to adopt a few of your new country’s holiday traditions, either. Spending the holidays away is a wonderful opportunity to experience a different cultural take on the traditional holiday season and to make new traditions for the years to come.
Connect with loved ones.
Modern technology these days has made it easier than ever to keep up with home. A well-timed Skype call home during the holidays can really help with that feeling of missing out. Set up times to connect in advance: the time difference can make things difficult around the holiday.
Try something new!
A change of scenery might be the very cure for your holiday blues! Take advantage of your free time and go on a mini trip. Explore a part of the country you’ve been itching to visit – or hop on a plane to somewhere completely new! The novelty of visiting somewhere entirely different will help cheer you up in no time.
While spending the holidays away will never be the same as being with family, you can still make the holidays special and memorable in a different way.
How do you plan on spending the holidays abroad this year? What do you miss most about the holidays at home? Let us know in the comments below!
