What do you do if you're feeling disconnected from your home country while working abroad?

A hack I usually use to maintain cultural ties while living abroad is leveraging social media and online platforms to find and connect with local expat communities from my home country. Many cities have Facebook groups, Meetup events, or online forums where expats organize gatherings, cultural exchange events, and even language practice sessions. This not only gives me a chance to celebrate familiar traditions and festivals but also to share my culture with others who are interested. It's a fantastic way to combat homesickness and find a balance between embracing the new and cherishing the old.

Although I like to maintain my Portuguese culture I do try to embrace the local culture as much as possible and doing this gives me a feeling of belonging.

An insight that often gets overlooked in the discussion of virtual connections is the profound impact of time zone differences on maintaining relationships across borders. While technology has indeed made it easier to stay connected, coordinating live interactions across time zones can be challenging, especially for those with busy schedules or in locations with a significant time difference from their home country.

Nowadays is a lot easier to connect with everyone and keep in touch. 15 year ago was skype and not much else. Today with the virtual connections we fell more close to everyone

I am a village kid, so when I grew up I always wanted to get out of my village and explore cities and the whole wide world. Now well into my 30s this attitude turned 360°. While I live in a relatively small city now (for Indian circumstances), I love being out in the rural. During my 7 years in India I had the pleasure to spend a lot of time in rural areas working with individuals, organisations that are settled at the grassroot level. The place I stay in now is in the outskirts of the Himalaya's and some of the villages here are as remote as it gets. Exploring these villages, helped me understand the local culture, build friendships and also kept my curiosity awake. All in all it helped me connect to the "bigger picture" we all live in.

Lors de mes expériences d'expatrié, j'ai toujours accordé une importance particulière à vivre pleinement chaque instant dans mon pays d'accueil. Chaque journée était une opportunité d'explorer les multiples facettes de cette nouvelle culture qui m'était alors inconnue : sa cuisine exquise, sa riche histoire, et surtout, ses habitants chaleureux. Je me suis plongé dans l'instant présent, conscient que cette expérience unique ne durerait pas éternellement.

From a broader perspective, integrating local exploration into your routine not only enhances your expatriate experience but also facilitates a deeper understanding and appreciation of the host country's culture, potentially leading to a more fulfilling and enriched life abroad. My recommendation is to approach this exploration with an open mindset and a sense of curiosity. Start with activities that resonate with your interests, whether it's joining a local sports team, attending art classes, or participating in community service.

Ao sentir desconexão no exterior, morar fora de comunidades do seu país de origem pode ser transformador. Isso incentiva a imersão na cultura local, aprendizado da língua e formação de amizades diversas, enriquecendo sua experiência e ajudando na construção de uma identidade mais inclusiva e global.

I had always explore the places where I have lived. In Africa or Europe I tried to travel as much as I could. We need to take advantage of the opportunity to we have on a different country

J'ai toujours vu l'opportunité de changer de rythme, de briser les habitudes et de vivre différemment. Par exemple à Cracovie, je faisais la majorité de mes déplacements à pied, la ville s'y prête tant elle est belle, cela me permettait de rester connecté à ce qui comptait pour moi et cela contribuait à mon bien-être et à une vie plus calme malgré les défis d'un travail exigeant, avec des heures plus longues que celles auxquelles j'étais habitué en France.

Nothing better than having a beer with some friends/colleagues. That allows you to steam the heat and fell that you belong somewhere

Almost all countries out there have rich histories of self-care and healing. Digging deeper into this history and the available practices not only helps you connect better to to country you have chosen to work in but also helps you cope better with the everyday challenges you go through in your second home. Be it some massage therapies, specific meditation and awareness practices, musical activities, spiritual rituals or just connecting and recharging in nature at places of power. I live in India and the real spiritual, yoga, meditation, ayurvedic practices are nothing like they are being taught by the majority of western influencers and trainers. Only by digging deeper and by listening I could understand what they are really all about.

Keeping you living space as your home fell is very important. you should not abdicate anything to make you feel like home and making it a safe harbor

It is extremely challenging to build yourself a "home away from home". On paper the place may be yours but the challenge is to really make it feel like home. I have been struggling with this for many years. Its challenging knowing that you will only stay in this place for a limited period of time before business will ship you off to a new location. You don't even know whether it is going to be in 6 months or 5 years. I often do not have the time to set up a whole house again. What helped me is building some small corners that just feel comfortable and homely. Decorate them with things from home, ensure you have good calming lighting - ideally the place should let you see outside in the far. Build yourself a homely corner away from home.

Living abroad sometimes can and will be testing. If have been living in India, and even after 7 years it sometimes still is challenging. But on the other hand, if you are aware and present, you can turn this uncomfortable feeling, this frustration, this irritation, this tension, this discontent, this disappointment into something special. The daily challenges and obstacles that you face while living abroad can provide you with some of the biggest opportunities for personal growth you will ever encounter. Often you are barely forced outside your comfort zone in your home culture. Take the opportunity that you get while living abroad to get to know yourself like you could never imagine before. I would have a whole book to fill.

Specifically when you live in a place which neither has a physical community you could stay in touch with or easy access to "home comfort food", you may start to feel lonely even though you have a nice community in the country in work in. I think its crucial that you tell the people around you how you feel, it helps share the burden. And everyone who has traveled for extended periods of time will understand your situation and empathize. If you share and talk about it you can avoid that your initial "home sickness" will turn into frustration or repulsion towards the country you live in. If you do not talk about it, you may get into a situation where even smallest issues will pose significant displeasure. Try to not get to that point!

Ce qui selon moi compte lorsque l'on s'expatrie pour une période plus ou moins longue, c'est que c'est une expérience de vie à part entière. Qui d'un côté nous éloigne de nos proches et d'un autre côté nous offre l'opportunité de connaitre, de se connecter à une autre culture, à d'autres personnes. De mon point de vue, si l'on veut vivre cette expérience comme quelque chose d'enrichissant, il faut accepter de faire quelques concessions sur ses habitudes, sur ce que l'on croit savoir, ainsi cette partie de l'histoire sera enrichi de moments magiques.

One thing you might consider is the opportunity to connect to new experiences in your host country—customs, traditions, festivities, foods, and more. However, this does not mean you might not have moments of homesickness, loneliness, or even missing your loved ones, especially during a holiday period or session. If you are living as a solo expat or with your family, turn your home into a place to gather with all your new friends. Have your guests share customs, food, and traditions from their home country as an exchange.