HOW TO FEEL LIKE HOME WHEN YOU'RE LIVING ABROAD

Time flies so fast. Without me realizing it, I have been living in Korea for 6 weeks. Seoul has been really nice to me. I love being here.

I’ve promised myself that I will come back to Korea. The idea of the future me, wearing typical Korean stripey shirt and coat, strolling around Myeong Dong while carrying bunch of shopping bags enliven the excitement inside my heart and body! Myeong Dong is my favorite place here. And that future time, I will not get lost for sure.

However, I can’t deny this feeling. I miss Indonesia. I miss Surabaya. I miss my home. I miss the food. I miss the pollution (I’m just kidding though). Put in simple, I miss being at home.

To all those Indonesian who’s living abroad I feel you now. There was one time I cried because I miss my home much. I know that Seoul is my home now. Here's the tips to make you feel like home wherever you are:

1. Find Indonesian food
My mom told me to bring Indonesian food like abon, pecel sauce and ABC extra spicy sauce thousand times before I went to Korea. I refused it as much as she forced me. Now, I am regretting that decision. I miss sambal. I miss the burning sensation inside my mouth when I eat penyetan.

So whenever you had enough of foreign food, you can just eat abon, rice and pecel sauce. If you don’t bring anything, just like me, try to find Indonesian food there.


I found one Indonesian food here. As expected, it was expensive! Chicken satay costs 14000 won, a.k.a more or less IDR 160.000

In Seoul, there’s store in Itaewon (line 5) which sells Indonesian dish. You can also find ABC sauce, Indomie and another typical Indonesian food.



Never thought that Yangnyom chicken and ABC sauce would be this luscious!

2. Bring pictures and other memorable things. 
I know it’s kinda old fashioned, yet seriously it works. Bring some pictures of you and your family, friends etc. Put it on your desk.
Why desk? Because mostly when you’re living in a dorm, you won’t have much space. You’ll do a lot of things on your desk. So, whenever you do something there, you can see those pictures. 
Pictures speak thousand words and memories. You'll feel that serenity inside your heart. Few months to go and you can meet them!! 

 from my sistaaa

3. Meet Indonesian there
Studying abroad helps you to improve your English or whatever language you use there. It’s a good point. However, sometimes you miss talking in Indonesian, right?

Find Indonesian people there. Do something fun with them. Do something stupid together. Travelling and being lost together can be a nice idea.lol 
Perhaps, you can also cook Indonesian food together. (too bad that Sogang dormitory does not have kitchen).

4. Stay in touch with your family, friends and other special people. 

Keep contact with your friends. Exchanging some stupid pictures through Snapchat helps a lot. I do that much times ;)
Set the schedule to have a video call with your family. Considering the time gap, you need to find time which is convenient for both you and your family.
For you who’s currently in Long Distance Relationship, please please please be careful.
Communication is really important to nourish your relationship. Even if you’re tired, spare time for him/her. A day that you don't contact each other, you’ll get used to it. You’d realize that your relationship stopped working when it's too late to fix it. Trust me. I experienced it few years ago. 

Can you imagine if you need to write in the piece of paper and wait for weeks to get your letter just like Savannah and John? It's sucks and miserable! 
Now,you're provided with those application (messenger, skype, snapchat, whatsapp, etc) which can help you to fight the distance and time difference between you and your beloved ones.
Hold on for few months and everything's gonna be fine!

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When I say that I miss home, some people ask whether I was happy staying here or not. I am happy living in Seoul. It makes me realize that no matter how happy you are in your new place, you will always miss home. Home is where you belong to.

Cheer up! Enjoy the time you have while you’re staying abroad, because once you go back you're going to miss that place. Lastly, keep in mind that you will be home soon!!

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