It is perfectly natural to feel a bit homesick when travelling abroad, but often this is something that can be cured by staying in touch with your friends and family back home. This is incredibly simple with text messages, email and social media, but often people find that this is not quite the same and does not help you to feel like you have really connected and stayed in touch.
With this in mind, here are four effective ways to touch base with loved ones back home when travelling abroad.
Video Calling Apps
Video calling whether it is Skype, FaceTime or anything similar is as close as you can get to a face-to-face conversation and is much more personal than a text or email. It allows you to see friends and family back home, plus you can also use the camera function to show them around during the call. These services are also great because you can have group conversations with ease, so you can catch up with multiple people at once. If you don’t feel like a long talk, you could always use these apps to watch TV at the same time and simply feel like you are in the same room. The only drawback is that time difference can be a slight problem.
Handwritten Letter
There is nothing quite like receiving a handwritten letter and this is sure to make the recipient’s day. A handwritten letter shows that a lot of thought and care has gone into the message, unlike an email which often feels impersonal and rushed. Sending and receiving these during your trip is a great way to stay connected and up to date in each other’s lives. They also make for good memento’s and keepsakes from your trip and can almost act like a journal and memory of your time spent there.
Packages
Sending international parcels has never been easier, faster and more affordable. A great way to bond and connect with loved ones is to send packages back home – these could contain souvenirs, photographs, non-perishable food and anything else that you think they would like (not your smelly clothes!). Similarly, they could send a care package out to you with fresh clothes, books, your favourite non-perishable food and similar items so you have a little taste of home along with you on your journey.
Games
Sometimes whilst overseas you miss casually hanging out with loved ones and do not always want an in-depth conversation. For times like this, online games are a great idea and there are endless ones to choose from. Turn-taking games like Scrabble and Monopoly are well-suited to this and often have a chat function where you can message each other and keep in touch.
Being away from friends and family can be difficult when you are abroad, but the above are all great ways to reconnect and can feel much more personal than text, email and social media.
