Home sickness
 

Do you get it ?

If yes, how do you cope ?

As much as I am thrilled to be going away and having a long break from it all, there are many times when I love where I live. I love my friends, family and just the basic stability and security of "Home".

My last long trip left me a little home sick. I was a month into it where I was just getting fed up with everything. I was arguing with my gf, money was getting low, we couldn't agree on anything etc. We pressed on regardless and I felt way better after another week but I was almost ready to turn back for home. Only bitter determination kept me going but im sooo glad I did.

My next trip is going to be over 6 months, and I KNOW that there will be hard times when I will feel like going home too.

Some people may scour at this but I feel that I'm thinking realistically. Surely everyone has "what the f**k am I doing here moments".

Enlighten me with your thoughts on the matter !

Ted :scooter:

You·ve got a problem, mate!
 

Hi there Ted old chum.:thumbup1:
If You get sick of staying at home and You get homesick when You·re away from home:eek3: ....there·s only one thing You can do: take out your travel guitar, play: "You·ve got a friend" and accompany this with a couple of shots of tequila and an aspirin. (it works allright on me)!:w00t:
Loads of female company:icon16: , calms Your emotional instability aswell, (but ends up making You craaazyyy). :wub: = :drool:
Pucker up Ted,
You·ll be allright.:mchappy:
Love and peace, at home and on the road.:punk:
Dan:tongue_smilie:

ooooooh I know ill be fine mate !!

Nothing will make me turn back or give up, i was just wondering if other people get a bit home sick at times !!

I think its normal too really but I know some people who have turned back after 2 weeks because they missed their dog !! :rofl:

gooood doggie....
 

G·day Ted,:thumbup1:
all depending on which kind of dog You mean? :innocent: . If You mean the other word You can use for a female dog, a lot, if they·ve got one at home, turn back earlier than planned I·m sure, taking into consideration the dogs we men are, when it comes to those doggish behaviours! :blush:
All the best ones and loads of them, I wish You on Your :mchappy: , trip.:clap:
:clover: from Dan:tongue_smilie:

homesick
 

phone home periodically:thumbdown: and you'll be told that nothing has changed:frown: ,weather's still crap:rain: and all is as you left! :sleep1: if you want to go back then turn around! :funmeterno: did'nt think so!!:mchappy:
bonne route:wave:

No turning back
 

I turned back once... and ended up doing the same stretch of French road 3 times, because I turned back again, thankfully, after a second 'what the f**k am I doing' moment :cool4:

Just ride it out. Chances are the wobbly will sort itself out once you have given yourself a little space. Emotions are weird suggestable things. Once you open the door and let yourself be sucked in, you can build and build on it until you have turned the bike around and done the complete opposite of what you set out to do. The trick is not to open that door too widely!

Homesickness for me has been disguised in so many circumstances. It can be frustration of knowing what you need to get in a new place but not being able to get it because of not knowing where to get it from. Aaarg!
Or, moments when I find myself thinking 'My Mom/Brother/friend/insert special person would love it here!' and not being able to have them there.

But, more often than not, a short while after feeling a little bit blue, something cool will happen to perk me up, and I will be a happy traveller again.

The unsettling things are the challenges that are sometimes the best parts of travelling.

You will always have your home, your family and your mates (the good ones anyway). You won't be able to repeat the moments you experience while travelling.

Bon voyage baby!

I think you've answered your own question there Ted. You pushed on through the hard part. Keeping a good attitude can be tough. Especially alone.
But as you've discovered, seems the first month or so is the hardest.

I always miss my dogs. Very dear to me. How could you resist Mollydog?
She's on the right...and a better "person" you will never meet.
http://patricksphotos.smugmug.com/photos/53673104-M.jpg

Don't know about homesickness yet (I leave on Monday) but I do know if I had those two cuties waiting for me at home I wouldn't be able to go in the first place!

It's hard enough leaving these guys behind

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1243/...1ccc14.jpg?v=0

homesick?
 

Hi Ted,

I tend to get a bit homesick after a while when I travel alone or have a girlfriend waiting at home or both. So my cure is i'm not going alone anymore and I make sure I don't have anybody waiting for me at home! Last trip was one year and didn't get homesick for second. Really not a second!!!
Got fed-up and bored with travelling after about 10 months but that has nothing to do with being homesick.

What I would do when I was travelling alone and being homesick, hook up with other people for a while and spoil yourself with good food and maybe a good hotel room orso!

Cheers,

Noel
exploreafrica.web-log.nl

4 legged fluffy things
 

sorry guys but if i had one of them adorable,beautiful,four legged fluffy things i could'nt leave it at home! i would go to hell and back to make room for it! :thumbup1:
that way i'd have something to wipe my seat with on them cold damp morning's!!!!!!!! and cleans flies off visor!!!!!!!!!!!!!(joke)
i'm an animal lover so dont worry. i just could'nt resist it!:D

If you had two they would make a marvellous pair of slippers for the evening!

On a serious note I have been afflicted by homesickness/apathy prior to planned trips over the last two years (I am not a RTW, I used to enjoy motorcycle touring for several weeks a year). It is not easy to meet up with like minded souls, organised group riding has no appeal for me and I find myself increasingly looking for (usually weak) excuses as to why I should not embark upon a journey. It would seem there is a mental hurdle that I need to get over which is easier said than done.

routine
 

This is so incredibly common that the only reason for the sarcastic comments is they don't want to admit they too have succumbed. I'm half homebody, half traveler. My solution at 43 was to take the dogs with me in a van which has all my stuff. Can't do that on a bike but, I met an older Canadian traveler many years ago iin Morocco who said it's very important that when you get into a hotel room, put out certain items, just small things, to make it your own place. I've found routine is incredibly important to me. I work on the road, so every morning I do the same thing, write in journal, drink tea, walk the dogs, and late afternoon, another routine. Doesn't matter whether it's running, a walk, having a beer, whatever. Routine. How do you think traditional nomads survived?? It's different for everyone, but find your own things. Guaranteed, it will ground you.

Everyone has those, what the f-ck am I doing here! Some can be ridden through.

I've also found the actual LEAVING is the hardest part. Once you're out there, you're fine.
good luck,
Lorraine

Lorraine,
You need to get on a bike....with a small dog. You know about Lew Waterman?
He took his Yorky, Punky, all over Mex. Central and S. America. I'm pretty sure with the right set up I could take Tasha, my smooth Weiner dog. She loves to travel and is well behaved everywhere. But man, what a liability. Still, I've thought about it many times and even taken her on short rides.

Patrick

http://patricksphotos.smugmug.com/photos/53673111-M.jpg
Tasha wearing Sombrero, she is 13 now. Molly has cancer now, very ill,
can no longer walk.

As I know Lorraine's dogs personally (animally?), and the two of them probably outweigh Lorraine, I can promise they aren't going anywhere on a motorcycle unless there is a sidecar involved. Hmmm, maybe not a bad idea.

A couple of years ago, a guy rode from Mexico city to the HU meet in Creel Mexico, with a Yorkie in a baby carrier on his chest.

Home sick causes.. for me

the continual travel - stop and stay somewheres for a week .. just being able to spread your stuff out and not repack. And to cook - shop for more than a day or 2 ..

the OZie bush .. fortunately people like gum trees for some reason.. so I can find some of those in most parts of the world .. stop, grab a few leaves .. crush and smell home.

the people .. phone home. Talk for a while. {most will have some relative they don't like - ring them to remind yourself why you don't want to go home? And you could make a mistake with teh time zone .. :)

Food ,, well sweets mostly .. not found a real solution to this. I can find pleasant beers frequently enough that that is not a problem.