Two Weeks after Arrival

Two weeks after arrival

My experience so far is that London, England is a lot like my home city of Olympia, Washington. Rainy!

I did some research beforehand and found that London has a consistent 2 inches on average of rain every single month of the year. In Olympia we have a few inches on average for 6 months of the year, almost no rain for two months in the summer, and an average of 5 inches of rain in October and 9 inches of rain in the month of November.

You read that right. Nine inches. I was going to be on a rain vacation! We don’t carry umbrellas in Washington state and if you do we’ll know you are a tourist. The first thing I’ve noticed about London is that EVERYONE has umbrellas! It was the first comment I made after arrival. However, the rain in London is harder and less frequent. I am guilty of ducking under an overhang and waiting out a downpour on days I didn’t have the umbrella I purchased at James Smith & Sons.

The rollercoaster of transitioning into life abroad is predictable. It was normal for me to feel nerves before leaving and it will be for you as well. You are in a new environment, a new country, and a new culture. Everything is different, difficult, and unfamiliar. While almost everyone will have an experience unique to themselves. There are five main stages that you may go through after arriving in your host country. These five stages are represented in the shape of a W. Three high points and two low. You start out nervous but excited and on top. The next stage is feeling home sickness for what you left behind. The third stage is a high because you feel familiar streets, routine, and comfort. The fourth stage is not wanting to return home because you have grown to love your host country, routine, and the excitement and experience. This is the second low part of the W. The final stage is another high and the last point. You remember what you love about home, reconnect with family, and appreciate things anew.

I have to admit that I do not recall feeling homesick at all but I witnessed it in my flat mates abroad. They had some difficulty with this stage. This fact also make sense when you fast forward to when we were getting ready to leave our host country. They seemed to skip over the reluctance to leave and they looked forward to going home. There was some tears and hugging. L So… not completely but as strongly as they wanted to go home, I wanted to stay forever. Everyone will experience these to varying degrees and for different lengths of time.

We tried to be there for each other. In my experience their hobbies and comfort items were the easiest ways for them to cope with their homesickness. Speaking to their loved ones helped initially but as the weeks wore on they seemed to make things worse. I encouraged them to write letters back and forth to expend some of their thoughts to relatives without the sad goodbyes that came with skype calls. It wasn’t a problem though… they felt homesickness and that was perfectly normal! I just wanted to help in any way that I could.