We are now at the halfway point in London and looking back at my time here, I genuinely have not experienced real homesickness. Obviously there are moments where I think it would be great to be home with my family and see my friends but for the most part I have been trying to absorb as much as I can here in London. I think what helps is both my mentality and the communication I kept with my family over the course of the last seven weeks that helped me not have a high level of homesickness.
I understand that I will be in London for a finite amount of time, having the privilege to work and study in a new environment. If I was legitimately moved to the UK because of a job offer, then it would be an entirely different story. These kinds of opportunities do not come often and I want to make the most of it. My family understands that, which is why we both knew what was expected. I am also in frequent communication with both friends and family back home. I FaceTime my family everyday on what is going on and what I will be doing, similarly as if I were home coming back from class. Also having the chance to experience the rest of Europe has also been a major factor in not feeling homesick because it allows me to explore all the different countries and ways of life.
The interesting thing is I did not have to go out of my way to feel connected to my host culture. In many ways, I believe the UK is more in line to my type of personality and the way I go about my daily life. Having a general understanding of how life works in the UK also helped me not make such a huge leap in order to feel comfortable. The people here are fast-paced but also a lot more casual compared to what you expect to find in a major metropolitan city in the US. While there are aspects that I wish I still had from the US, it is nice to be in an environment that lets me explore things that I have never been exposed to.