by Aanisah Husain

Move-in day is almost the same for international students as it is for other University of Maryland students — except that College Park is thousands of miles away from home.

Coming to College Park is like entering a new and unfamiliar terrain for international students on campus. What was once familiar is no longer familiar, creating this strange feeling called homesickness. 

“It’s kind of a feeling of emptiness. You just want to be with your parents, your family,” said Kruti Bhingradiya, a sophomore aerospace engineering major from India.

When Bhingradiya first came to the U.S. last school year, she had a small social circle.

“I think being an international student, it really helps if you have a solid group of friends,” Bhingradiya said. That helps lessen the feeling of homesickness, she said. 

“Coming to the U.S. with no friends at all is hard because as you don’t attend the high school, you don’t know anyone because everyone is in their home country,” said Samarth Modh, a sophomore mechanical engineering major from India, who moved to the U.S. last school year.

For Alex Bentley, a sophomore English major from England, being homesick can cause anxiety. 

“Sometimes I feel like I haven’t got my base because you’re not at home,” Bentley said. 

When Bentley does get homesick, little things can set him off such as not liking the dining hall food one day, making him miss the food from back home. 

He said that’s homesickness at its easiest. At its worst, “it’s like feeling cold. I’m not feeling the warmth of home,” Bentley said. “It’s like depression at its worst.”

With the return of students to campus, Bhingradiya, Modh and Bentley have had the ability to interact and mingle with others on campus, something that was not easy to do last school year.

One coping mechanism that helps deal with some of their homesickness is taking some time to call their family — even if it is for a few minutes, they said. 

“The internet has made our world really small. It’s not really that bad because I usually call my parents every day,” Bhingradiya said.

But sometimes, a phone call is not enough to cope with homesickness. 

“It’s just like ‘Oh my god, I want to hug my mom’ but then I can’t because she’s really far away,” Bhingradiya said. 

Then there are times when the desire to go home makes dealing with homesickness even worse.

“When times are really hard, that’s when it’s tough being so far away from home because I can’t just ask to come home, like it’s impossible,” Bentley said. “A lot of people from Maryland can do that whereas I can’t.”

The three international students have turned to different mechanisms. 

Bhingradiya enjoys traveling to different places or just simply going out in nature. Modh said he goes to Eppley Recreation Center five times a week because it helps clear his mind. 

Bentley goes to the Counseling Center and turns to his numerous hobbies like writing, reading, watching and making movies, and journaling. Bentley said journaling is crucial in coping with homesickness because it helps him distinguish and register each day rather than having all the days lump together.

All three were able the recent Thanksgiving Break even without their family. Bhingradiya, who lives in an apartment off campus, used the break time to go on outdoor adventures with her friends, Modh traveled and stayed at a friend’s place and Bentley spent his break with his roommate’s family. 

Though they all live thousands of miles away from home and going home for the short breaks is not feasible, not one of them regretted making the decision of attending the university.

Bhingradiya and Modh said the value of a great education overpowers any emotion.

Bentley said he wishes it were easier to go home — but he nevertheless believes he made the right decision.

“For all the hard times, I realized the actual experience [and] benefits of this experience outweighs [feeling homesick],” Bentley said. “My specific set of circumstances mean that there are times where I wish I could go home but I still have not regretted staying. … In the end, I’m happy here.”

Featured image: H.J. Patterson Hall, the home of the Office of International Affairs. Photo courtesy of the University of Maryland.