Dealing with homesickness in Belgium

Hello Priscilla,

I think your question is a little wobbly. Because expatriation is voluntary. We always have at one time or another some blues. Even for me, although Belgian, I regret some things in the countries where I stayed. So in conclusion, for me, if you feel good in your head, you feel good everywhere....

Some people really have a hard time dealing with homesickness, especially if they were almost never away from home before their expatriation, or migration for that matter.

In the beginning, I dealt with it by having a baby right away :-O

And while pregnant, went on studying the language, trained for future work, reading about stuff I needed to know about having a baby in Belgium and just being busy learning new things about my new country.

I did and still do volunteer work for various organizations, go to school for whatever course fancies me, join art groups, follow dance lessons, play badminton at the local sport center, visit "rommelmarkten", organize trips with friends to a Belgian city every now and then, invite friends for "karaoke" afternoons, or just have tea in some quirky cafe, go to Saturday/Sunday markets, take nature walks, grab the bike for a quick roundabout trip...

There are so many things to do, your imagination is the only limit.

So get out there and have fun, that's the best pill against homesickness.

Belgium is an awesome country. I had no homesickness because I don't like my home country, the USA. I prefer Belgium. The language and culture barriers are difficult, so find some other expats living in Belgium who are usually found at your workplace.

In the initial stage, it is always better to mingle more and more with friends and explore new places. Thanks to technology, skype and whatsapp, that allows loved ones to be within your reach at very low cost. I also preferred to go to gym where not only I got to meet new people but also exercising was a stress buster for me.

One of the ways to cope with home sickness is to try to make your host country a bit more like your home country. It is good to try to do things you were doing back home and mingle around.

Of course, keeping in touch with family and friends always helps.

Bottom line, every experience is different and personal. Try to stick with what works best for you and enjoy the new challenge!

how lucky of you of having a baby...right away as you moved to Belgium and in the same time how stupid what you say is.

SO let s see: you brag with the things you do, from having a baby to doing voluntary work and following different courses. But who s paying for all this. You? Oh no. Is that hard working man you have that is keeping your fantasies alive and of course...the government. Who s paying you extra money for that right away baby you had in Belgium.

How smart of you and how pathetic in the same time!

Hi! Thanks for your input, condescending as it is...

But I paid for all of it, thank you... from having work (even while pregnant). And I have never knocked on the door of OCMW, not that it is something to brag about but to be thankful for.

I just have a thirst for knowledge and I really do all those things and more. If you want I can send you some activities that we will soon be doing somewhere in Sint-Niklaas? You would be so welcome, maybe you can also be a volunteer?

I am a volunteer of Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen, Solidagro and more. Check their activities out and you'll see what I mean.

See our previous activity: http://www.solidagro.be/kalayaan-en-fil … n-verslag/

And here are a couple that's coming up in October

in Ghent: http://www.solidagro.be/th_event/filipi … cafe-gent/

in Sint-Niklaas: http://www.solidagro.be/th_event/slotev … ilipijnen/

(that's me on the guitar :-)

And please don't be so judgmental in the future... peace.

Dear

Being a volunteer don t get paid. *Or you are volunteer, working and being paid, and a mother in the same time?
Sorry,but I find it hard to believe.

I was lonely although in a crowd.  Flights to Ireland were expensive in 1985 & it was unheard of to fly back and forth like I can now.  Letters and calls increased my sense of isolation, despite a busy work day. Night times were hard, listening to the sounds of a different place, looking at the skies and wishing I was back in the mother country.  Mam helped me find an english-speaking community called Saint Anthony's in Kraainem and that's where I found my new roots. I guess you need to feel loved and accepted whatever that means for you🙂

Volunteer work is sometimes paid, depending on the size and budget of the organization. I have, in the past been paid as individual volunteer or as a member of a group volunteering. But... that's only work done during my free time. I work full-time in a multinational for almost two decades now, a nine to five job that affords me extra time and energy to do other things in the evenings and weekends. I know it's hard to believe, but that is the fact. :-D I blame it on my ADHD.