I did not expect the homesickness caused by not being surrounded by the people who ground you while studying abroad. I knew I would feel some sort of homesickness from being so far away from the familiar. However, I didn’t realize I was in this liminal space until I met up with a friend from Hope.
![Me and Sofia in the Brussels City Center](https://blogs.hope.edu/off-campus/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2021/11/2021-11-18-12-27-768x1024.jpeg)
My friend, Sofia, is currently studying abroad in Italy and we decided to meet somewhere near the middle (Belgium). Wow, I needed that visit. A side of myself that hasn’t been able to be expressed came out and it was wonderful. I am not saying that I have been shielding or hiding a section of myself. Rather, different people bring out different sides of me.
![Bruges](https://blogs.hope.edu/off-campus/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2021/11/2021-11-18-12-26-1-1024x768.jpeg)
A friend in London described that feeling as people being varied forms of home. You may feel a different kind of home with your parents versus your friends. And that can be broken down even further from friend to friend. I have built a home and sanctuary with my friends at Hope. I have been away from them for so long that I have built a new home in London. But physically returning to a friend from Hope, even for a short two days, was like a breath of fresh air. A piece of familiarity after being surrounded by the unfamiliar for just over 2 months. I love London and am refusing to believe I only have a month left here, but I also miss the people back home.
![Brussels](https://blogs.hope.edu/off-campus/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2021/11/2021-11-18-12-24-768x1024.jpeg)
Technology has made contacting friends accessible through facetime and texts. However, it is nothing like going for coffee at 205 or LJs with them and just talking about life. I am unbelievably lucky to have had the opportunity to see Sofia this weekend and it has just invigorated me to spend my time in London to the fullest.
![Autumn in Bruges](https://blogs.hope.edu/off-campus/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2021/11/2021-11-18-12-26-1024x768.jpeg)
That short visit healed some of the homesickness I didn’t realize I had. I encourage anyone planning on studying abroad to not dismiss their homesickness but to find a way to ease it. To use it as fuel to live your time abroad to the fullest.