Tag: Homesick

A Sicilian Easter Weekend

A Sicilian Easter Weekend

Easter has always been a holiday I celebrated with big family meals, Easter egg hunts, and attending church, so I knew this year it would be hard to celebrate this holiday away from home. Because my friends and I were all in the same home-sick boat we did our best to make our most of Easter in Italy by taking a little beach vacation to Sicily (the island the boot of Italy is kicking).

As soon as we landed I could tell we picked the perfect spot for our long weekend. Sicily is filled with all sorts of cliffs, hills, mountains and of course the beach. The coastline was absolutely beautiful and the Mediterranean was an incredible blue and turquoise.

The AirBnB we rented for the weekend was in the town of Mondello–a tiny beach town just north of Palermo. The apartment was just around the corner from the center of town, 3 blocks from the water, and had a view of the sea from the bedroom. Yea, it wasn’t too bad.

We ate lunch at a pizzeria just off the boardwalk and we were proud to say that we could definitely taste a difference between the Roman pizza we’re used to and the Sicilian pizza (I like Sicilian better). Then after a quick afternoon nap we laid on the beach until the sun sunk below the hills. We did a little grocery shopping at the alimentari for snacks and ingredients to make our own Easter dinner on Sunday. We ate dinner next door to the pizzeria we were at for lunch. My friends enjoyed some fresh seafood pasta, while I opted for pizza again. The rest of our evening was spent playing card games in our apartment.

After sleeping in on Sunday morning we inspected the goodies the Easter bunny left us (thanks for sending us sweets Mom and Dad!), put on our swimsuits (even if it wasn’t quite warm enough to swim) and made our way down to the beach. We laid in the sun for the next few hours, managed to get a little sun burnt, then ate some gelato.

We decided that the best way to make it feel like a holiday was to cook dinner ourselves. It wasn’t the ham and potatoes I usually get at home, but we cooked up some pretty good (and authentic) pasta. I think we pulled off a pretty good holiday weekend for ourselves. I was grateful to be in place where the only thing I wanted to see was the beach, rather than a bunch of museums and monuments.

Sicily on Easter made for one Buona Pasqua!

For When You’re Missing Home

For When You’re Missing Home

It’s been a while since you’ve seen your parents, your siblings, or your pets and at this point in the semester you’re probably dragging. It’s already been a month since fall break and we’ve got another month to go before Thanksgiving break, so how do you cope with the homesickness that just kicked in?

Well, in my year and a half of college I’ve gone through my fair share of homesickness. At times I’ve overcome it quite easily, but other times that hasn’t been the case.

Last year, I definitely found it hard to be away from my family for such a long time. When my roommate and I were having serious cases of homesickness we thought it best to spend time with our other good friends…Ben & Jerry. Not so much spending, but actually sharing a pint of our favorite flavor of ice cream. Every once in a while this is the perfect homesickness strategy, but I would suggest a different game plan.

If you’d rather skip the ice cream therapy, try one of these strategies instead:

  1. Talk to Your Roomie.  I always feel better after I talk things out. Plus, the chances are pretty high that your roommate is feeling the same way you are and will really appreciate having someone to talk to.
  2. Take a Chicago Adventure. Doing something fun in the city with your friends will be a quick way to get your mind off of anything. Hang out in Millennium Park, explore a neighborhood, or eat some authentic Chicago deep dish.
  3. Go Ahead and Call Home. Your family will be excited to talk to you. Hearing a little bit about what they’ve been up to will be good for you too. (Be cautious with this one though, if your parents live close enough a surprise visit to cheer you up might be in the works.)
  4. Do Something that puts You in a Good Mood. Try watching a funny movie or having a dance party. Anything that is sure to put a smile on your face is perfect

When it comes down to it almost every college student will get homesick at some point. Don’t panic. Over time you’ll learn what strategies will cure your homesickness.