Obsession of the Week: Home

After 4 months abroad in Rome, Italy and the rest of Europe, I've finally come home.

And, like Dorothy said in The Wizard of Oz, there's no place like home!

It's great to be home. My mom, sister and boyfriend picked me up at the airport on Saturday night when I got home from a long day of travel back to the States. I was excited and shed a tear or two of joy. It was such a relief to finally be home after a long and grueling 20 hours of travel.

After the drive back from the airport, I was greeted by three very excited dogs who were literally jumping for joy at my return. My boyfriend helped me with my luggage up to my room, and my mom and sister ordered Chinese Food for my first meal home. It was nothing short of exactly what I wanted.

My room was just as I hard remembered, and my bed--just as comfy as it has ever been.

I slept like a baby that night.

Home really is where the heart is.

The List of Miss

After being abroad for four months, I've developed a list of things that I miss from the good ol' U.S. of A.

In the grand scheme of things, being away from the U.S. for four months isn't a long period of time. However, it's a long enough period where I've started to miss things from home--and not just the standard, "I miss my mom, I miss my sister, I miss my dogs..." list, either.

This is The List of Miss--the things I've missed from home as opposed to the people. Don't get me wrong, the people are more important, of course. But it still doesn't mean that I sure as hell couldn't go for a TastyKake right about now!


So, let the missing commence! Cause after all, I only have 10 days left to miss these things before I get to indulge again!



1.) Chinese Food: Maybe it's bizarre to have the first thing on my list of things I miss from America be Chinese food... but let's face it... there really is nothing like General Tso's Chicken from an American Chinese food place (oxymoron? possibly...). My boyfriend and I order Chinese food on some Friday nights and watch movies, and I really can't wait to do that once again with him. Chinese pizza, dumplings, egg rolls, and Mooshu Pork are all calling my name...

2.) Pandora: It's blocked in Italy. It's restricted. It's kaput. The point is, I've gone without Pandora for four months, and my only crime? Living in Rome.

3.) My home bed: Home beds are part of the reason why people love to go back to their parent's homes for holidays after they've become adults and moved out. Home beds are full of love and memories and giggles and sunshine. That's why I'm excited to sleep in my home bed, instead of the piece of cardboard I've slept on for the past four months. (Note: It's not really a piece of cardboard... but it feels like I've been sleeping on one.)

4.) Philadelphia: The city is unlike any I've ever been to. It's just something about Philadelphia that says "Home" to me. It's the Tastykakes, the soft pretzels and the cheesesteaks. It's LOVE Park and City Hall. It's University City and 30th Street Station. It's Penn's Landing, the Ben Franklin Bridge, and the Schuylkill River. It's the concerts, South Street, the diners and Fairmont Park. There really is nothing like the beauty of Philadelphia.

5.) Wawa: Now, for those of you who don't live in the Tri-State Area or close enough to it to have experienced the place known as Wawa, I apologize. But this little convenience store slice of heaven is something I am SO looking forward to. Between hoagies and iced tea, and everything in between, it will be great getting back home where I have three within walking distance!

6.) Driving: I've heard the horror of the rising gas prices... but it doesn't change the fact that I am really excited to drive my car again.



What are some things you miss when you leave the familiarity of home? Comment and share them here!

Technology: Affording the Traveling Soul Communication with Home

I have been away from home for almost three months at this point.

While it's been mostly good, it's also been filled with moments of tension, stress, challenge, anxiety, and hurt. Nothing is perfect, not even a semester abroad in the Eternal City (although, I will admit, it's pretty close). But the beauty of living in the 21st Century means that there is this amazing thing called technology that allows me to keep in touch with the people from home better than I would have in my mom's generation.

Do you see this picture here? This is a picture of some of my closest friends from La Salle, where I go to college back home in the United States. I lived with the girls last semester, and we lived next door to the boys--and while they are all absolutely ridiculous and crazy, I love them all with all of my heart.

The cool thing is, this picture wasn't taken before I left. It wasn't taken last year. It wasn't taken with one of their cameras and sent to me through facebook, e-mail, snail mail, or any kind of mail for that matter. It was taken when I was Skyping with them on my computer, and I quickly snapped a screen shot of them all to keep on my laptop whenever I needed to smile. And I find it absolutely incredible that I am able to do this kind of thing.

Think about it, communication is easier than it ever has been in the past. There is no reason to not keep in touch with your family and friends while you are away from home. What with Facebook, Skype, iChat, Blackberrys, iPhones, e-mail, instant message, G-mail Chat, blogs, and twitter, all in addition to snail mail we literally have no excuse.

So what are you waiting for? Send someone an e-mail, text or IM letting them know that you're thinking about them and hope they are well. It's so simple, quick and convenient--and you won't regret it!

What is your favorite thing about technology and what it allows you to do in today's society? How has it helped you keep in touch when you've been away from home? What is your preferred method of communication?

What to Do When Homesickness Strikes

It's tough being away from home.

Home is familiar. Home is comfortable. Home is where the heart is. But sometimes, you outgrow "home" and you want something more--and so you leave home for somewhere new, exciting, fun and... lonely?

Well, it doesn't have to be. Being away from home, whether for a week or for a year or for ten years, might be hard at times, but it doesn't have to be lonely and depressing--at least not 100% of the time. Sure, everyone gets homesick, but what happens when you can't shake the feelings and you dig yourself deeper and deeper into the hole of homesickness?

For me, homesickness has come in waves, and each time I've dealt with it differently. There are so many ways to deal with it. I've only discovered a handful and am still in the process of discovering more for when I am struck with future waves of homesickness. But, if you're like me, it's hard to come up with remedies for being homesick on the spot and in the moment of desperation. So here, I'll share some of my solutions in the hopes that next time you're hit with being homesick, you won't have to think on your feet right away and you can try a few of these first.

1.) Get out of bed (because I know that's where you most likely are if you're homesick), get a shower, and get out of your flat/apartment/townhouse/dorm room/etc. Yes, I know it's much easier to just stay in your pajamas and wallow all day long until you can go back to sleep in hopes of waking up the next morning cured. But the truth of the matter is, you'll just build up more feelings of loneliness and homesickness that way. Trust me, I know. There have been several days here in Rome (or back home at my university) where I've done exactly what I just told you not to do, and it has not helped. So now, when I begin to feel the symptoms of being homesick, I get up and get going. It gets me away from the doom and gloom of my bed and out into fresh air.

2.) Do something you've never done before. Have you been dying to check out that new museum exhibit, but no one ever seems to want to go with you? Have you heard about a new restaurant that has great food and you want to try it out? Have you wanted to take a walk around the nearby park that you just haven't had a chance to walk around yet? Then go do it. When you do something new, it might help you find something that you'll really love, it'll keep you from getting bored with routine, and it'll help you grow! Not to mention, it'll keep your mind off of being homesick, and by the time you get back to your place of residence, you'll have fun stories to tell your room mates and will be too preoccupied to be homesick.

3.) Talk to someone else who is with you who might be going through and feeling some of the same things. While it might seem backwards to talk about your homesickness (because then you are thinking about it instead of getting your mind off of it, right?) it can actually be beneficial. The other person, while also homesick, might have some great ideas to get rid of the homesickness that you hadn't thought of. Or they might help you put it into perspective. Or they might just commiserate with you until you've talked through it. Any of these things could help you to ease your feelings of homesickness.

4.) Go through all of the amazing pictures you've taken since being away from home. Not only will this make you smile at all the goofy, silly, challenging, and exciting things you did since being away from home, but you'll be too busy remembering all the fun you've had being away, you'll forget why you were even homesick to begin with. Not to mention, you'll look forward to all your future adventures while you're away from home, knowing that they'll continue to be amazing and adventurous.

5.) As a last result, call home. It's okay to do this. Sometimes, what you really need is to just talk with mom, or your brother or sister, or your boyfriend or best friend. And while it might also make you miss them more, it can also be alleviating to tell them how homesick you are and that you need them to tell you something happy. I've found that listening to other people tell me about their days helps me not to think about why I'm homesick in the first place. Listening to someone else talk about their routines, classes, meals, or daily goings-on might seem boring usually, but when you're homesick, it can actually be soothing to know that life is still the same back home and, while you are missing the people and comforts, not much is changing in your absence.

What are some of your remedies for homesickness? How have you learned to deal with missing the people, places and things from home? Has being away gotten easier the longer you've gone without going home?