Hi, I know this isn’t the place to ask. But i just want to know what you guys think are signs that someone interning abroad should go back home. (even though it is earlier than expected)
I am currently on my second month in the US and have a 12 month contract. I am currently feeling extreme homesickness and starting to get depressed. I know other people say that this is normal and to give it time or to look for routines or things to do. But i am afraid for my emotional and mental health. I wake up every day feeling an emptiness and i can’t shake off the thought of going home, even when i am in work. I can’t imagine living like this for the next couple of months.
I’ve talked to the manager and she told me that i may choose to go home after 3 months if i wish and i am considering her offer. I am just worried what people back home might say about me, i don’t want to seem like a quitter. And i also don’t want to disappoint my parents cause they told me how proud they were i took this huge step in my life and i can’t imagine letting them down. But i know if i go home i would be happy, i just canmt stop thinking about how my parents would feel.
So, what do guys think are signs that enough is enough? How should i know that it is time to go home?
So are you doing these things, either with your U.S. colleagues or with people you know from your own country? How do you spend your time outside of work?
I made some friends from my home country here and we usually hang out when we have days off work, we’d go to the mall or eat out. But it just feels different. I mean, they’re nice people but i still feel lonely.
I don’t know if it’s possible but i just don’t think living abroad is for me. It’s already been two months, i’ve adjusted with work and made friends already but i’m still not happy and can’t stop thinking about going home all the time.
I just can’t imagine having to go through the next couple of months with this type of mental health.
I’m no expert, but I do have a son who was in the Peace Corps living in an isolated African village for 2 years. The first few months were a huge lonely depressing time, but the training he’d been through prepared him and he knew there was an adjustment curve when someone is assimilating to a new culture. I wish you’d gotten the same information. He was really down for a bit and I was concerned that he needed to come home, but after 3 or 4 months that loneliness started to lift and he was able to start enjoying the new people and different customs. Your reaction is not strange, it’s normal. Don’t go yet, give it another month, preferably two, then if you don’t feel better you can make a decision. Have you talked to your friends from your home country about how they managed the adjustment, sometimes knowing that others have also gone through it is comforting. I wish you the best of luck.
