10 Ways for an expat not to feel homesick

We all have our personal lists - of the zaniest/quirkiest/
funniest/ craziest/smartest ... We devote this page to them.

This week, Pia Larsson Norrman is a marketing manager for Central Perk Café, Dubai, lists ...

Communicate: E-mail, phone and chat with your family and friends back home. They are most likely craving to hear your voice and it's always nice to talk to people who really know you.

Create a base camp: We have tried to create a slice of Sweden in our cosy little dwelling. Entering our house after a long day at work is like walking into our home in Sweden. It's a great escape.

Speak your native language: My husband and I are Swedish and it's refreshing to come back home and switch to our mother tongue after an English overload in the office. It helps us to keep our lingo alive and fresh.

Eat your traditional food: Go to restaurants that serve your favourite food or try to cook traditional food in your kitchen. This will not only keep you occupied but also help you maintain contact with your home country.

Do some e-Shopping: If you cannot find your favourite food and other goodies on the supermarket shelves try the web. Finding salt liquorice (on the net) after searching in all local supermarkets is enough to put a smile on my face.

Make new friends: Discover new people of different cultures. If you have the opportunity to interact with someone new, take it! I work for a local company and am the only European in the office, so I have befriended people from other parts of the world.

Keep a journal or diary: You can write your thoughts on a daily basis in your diary. When you feel lonely or homesick you could pick up the diary and read through to refresh your memories with pleasant experiences.

Explore your surroundings: It is important to appreciate where you live. All of a sudden things can change, you may be required to go back to your home country and you realise you haven't even begun to explore your surroundings yet.

Invite family and friends: Dubai is not hard to sell! Tell them to come with a full wallet and an empty suitcase as they will return home with an empty wallet and a full suitcase. (The point is they bring you loads of your favourite things.) And it's great fun to show them around so they get a better understanding of the place where you live.

Allow yourself to feel homesick: I would be worried if I wasn't feeling homesick from time to time. When it surfaces, it's more feelings I have about places, smells, sounds and the overwhelming silence in the mountains.

Pamper yourself with photos, music in your own language, movies, books, web radio whatever it takes to make you feel good. At the end of the day you have a pretty good life!