Arriving in a new place instills a sense of excitement and wanderlust. The first ideas that come to your mind involve traveling, meeting new people, and eating new, exciting foods.

This is, of course, is one of the most exciting parts about traveling and being in a new country; however, for many people, the difficulties of being away from family, friends, and home eventually begin to creep up.

Homesickness

Feelings of nostalgia and homesickness can be brought up by a multitude of reasons. Maybe your favorite restaurant doesn’t exist in your new home, chances are that holidays you have become accustomed to will be celebrated differently, it might be harder to make friends in a foreign country. Whatever the reason, culture shock happens to the best of us.

Does this mean you should avoid going anywhere new for fear of future, momentary discomfort? Are you nuts, of course not! We all make decisions based on the best information available to us at the time. Avoiding doing anything in the present because you’re scared of what the future may hold sounds like a difficult way to live life, if you ask me.

There are plenty of ways to get over the difficulties of living in a new place.

Travel

Obviously, this is the number one thing you should be doing when you’re abroad. Unless you can afford to travel around the world and see new countries on a regular basis, this is most likely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Take advantage of the opportunity! Learn from people who come from different walks of life. Every person you meet comes from different circumstances and has different perspectives on life. Keep an open mind and embrace these amazing and diverse stories.

Friends

No matter where you go you will meet people with similar interests to yourself. Friends you made back home will always be there for you. Family back home will always be there for you. Spending one or two years abroad will not change your deepest relationships (really the only ones that matter) back home.

Teaching abroad is an international profession. You will meet people from more countries than you could imagine. Again, keep your heart and mind open to different perspectives. Use this chance to learn from different places around the world.

If and when you decide to go back to your home country, you will have become a new person. You will take back the new perspectives on life and new ways of thinking. Not only that, but you will also have connections to friends from all around the world. Your time abroad will shape you and will always be a memory of who you are.

So, what are you waiting for!

Vadim Rubin is an ethnic Belarussian learning to speak Mandarin Chinese. He is a coach, teacher, linguist, athlete, and an aspiring world traveler. As an avid volleyball player and coach, he spends a majority of his time on the court with sweaty volleyball junkies. Off the court he enjoys to travel, write, and teach world languages. In the summer of 2012 he traveled to Taiwan to study Chinese and wrote about his adventures in his blog: 三個月在臺灣 My Three months in Taiwan . He documented his adventures in Taiwan and China on his blog  Where’s Your Inner Child? He is now back in Taiwan teaching English, traveling, and discovering what life has to offer. – See more at: Vadim Rubin, Author at Baltimore Post-Examiner