5 Helpful Tips For Au Pairs To Overcome Homesickness
Homesickness is a common problem for Au Pairs. When you visit a new place and stay there for a while, you will naturally miss your home, your parents, and your friends. But you don’t have to let homesickness prevent you from making the best out of your Au Pair experience. Below we’ve listed 5 helpful tips for Au Pairs to overcome homesickness and to make sure you are having the best time of your life as an Au Pair.
Understand Why You Feel That Way
According to a study, homesickness is a kind of grief for a loss, similar to mourning a breakup or death. This means “homesickness” is a really painful feeling and it might even take a while for you to cope with it. But that’s okay. It’s okay to feel that way. One of our helpful tips for Au Pairs like you is to tell yourself that it’s okay and it’s normal to feel this way. The bad feelings are only temporary. As soon as you learn that it’s normal, you’ll slowly but surely feel better.
Create a List of Adventures
Our helpful tips for Au Pairs to overcome homesickness include creating a list of adventures or a ‘bucket list’ to explore Australia. If it’s your first time in the country, you should try to visit places you’ve never been to before. Find the ten best coffee shops in the city, top tourist locations, or go to the beach with your Au Pair friends! This will help you focus on the next adventure, and making fun memories instead of thinking about what’s happening back home. Your host family will most likely invite you to join them in fun outdoor activities; take the chance and make the most of your day!
Make Yourself Comfortable In Your New Home
It may take some time for you to get used to living in a new home together with your host family. But as soon as you get comfortable, you will no longer feel homesick anymore. You will have your own room, so feel free to place picture frames on your bedside table or play some music (not too loud) that will make you feel happy – avoid the sad songs. You can also make new friends who can share a few helpful tips about Au Pairing for you – anything that will help make you feel like you’re in a safe and fun place.
Share What Your Feel With Your Host Mum
Well, we’re pretty sure host dads are great at giving advice and can comfort you when you’re feeling sad but I think we can all agree to this – mums know best. If you feel homesick, share what you feel with your host mum. She will surely know what to do to make you feel better. Research also shows that you can deal with homesickness a lot better if you talk about what you feel and what you’re experiencing with someone you trust. Don’t be shy – your host family is there to help make your stay a great one so feel free to share what you feel with them and allow them to help you deal with it. They can also give more helpful tips for Au Pairs especially if they have hosted Au Pairs many times before!
Write Your Thoughts and Feelings in a Journal
The last one in our list of helpful tips for Au Pairs is about keeping your own journal to write your thoughts and feelings in. Being an Au Pair and living in a new place where you don’t know anyone can be overwhelming so write everything down, from the smallest detail. What was your first reaction when you arrived in Australia? Are you excited to meet new friends? What adventures are you planning to take on soon? This will help you have a better understanding of what you feel and relieve the feelings of homesickness.
While it’s normal to feel lonely and homesick, it’s important for you to look at the good side of being an Au Pair. Remember that you are in Australia to make memories, discover new things, learn a new language, make new friends, and if you’re a demi pair – finish your studies! Think about all the fun you are going to have. Think of all the wonderful stories you can share with your family and friends back home! Make your Au Pairing experience an unforgettable adventure by focusing more on the positive and learning more helpful tips for Au Pairs like the ones we gave you above!
Become an Au Pair today! Send us an e-mail at support@99aupairs.com and we’ll help find the right host family for you.