The Secret Life of an Expat: Homesickness

It creeps up on you, when you least expect it!  It somehow finds its way in.  It doesn't even knock, it just bust opens the door and Bam there it is!  I'm talking about being homesick!  The dreaded word no expat wants to hear let alone face.  They say it normally creeps up on you around your 3rd month abroad and hits you just when you think you are getting settled and adapting successfully to your new life.  Its a strange feeling at first.  You quite can't put your finger on what is wrong but, you know your not feeling the same about your new life as before and then it hits you!  You miss home!!  Yup, your HomeSick!  For some, it begins by trying to find out any news you can from friends and family back home.  So, you call your grandma and she wants to talk about her latest medical test or her garden for an hour...Great!  Your all ears!  Or, maybe your just a little grumpier than normal, or things that wouldn't normally bother you set you off.  Like, not being able to find Mexican food in your town.  Which is a fact that you have known from day one but, for some reason on that particular day it just really pisses you off!  Another common one is checking your e-mail, facebook or any other social media site constantly just to check out the latest news or see if anyone has replied to the page long letter you sent them in response to their simply asking "what's up?"  Its a strange phenomenon; this homesickness, and I doubt they find a cure.  Besides, simply returning to that dear place you call home and enjoying such luxurious as people speaking the same language and spending time with the people you love.  Until then, I really wish bosses would implement a foreigner homesick day.  But, then I would probably just stay in all day and watch re-runs of American tv on the internet, check facebook obsessively, and Skype with everyone and their dog.  The latter would only result in "Skypers Remorse" a new phrase I'm taking credit for!  Yeah, its like shoppers remorse except with Skype.   I have a love hate relationship with Skype.  Its a long story but, for the most part we get along.