Solar shares his experience with Lunar, speaking of homesickness, that is one of common problems faced by students, highly concerned by educators.
Solar: Speaking of homesickness, it is not a kind of sickness, it is a state of mind. It is not a good condition, it is a kind of ache, that crowds out the other feeling, loneliness and depression, and certainly affects students' study, or even damages mental health.
The fir beside him flaps branches, as if he expressed a sign that he understands.
Lunar nods her head, encouraging him to go ahead of his speaking.
Lunar: Go ahead.
Solar: Homesickness is the soil for loneliness and depression. Loneliness is when there is nobody you can care for or nobody who can care for you. Depression is when there is no reason worth of living. Homesickness is the root of loneliness and depression. It's required to be highly concerned, before it develops into depression.
Lunar: Homesickness is a kind of ache for the paradise of home, isn't it?
Solar: Homesickness is caused by loss of familiarity and routine, separation from support system, the stress of the new, identity and belongng, and loss of control.
Lunar: Loss of familiarity and routine?
Solar: Loss of familiarity and routine is not lost forever, it is lost temporarily. A tourist who often travels outside, would secretly miss home at night. He would miss the trees at courtyard, the folks at community, the family at the paradise of home. He would miss the routine at home, the taste of breakfast, and family dinner.
Lunar: Separation from support system?
Solar: Support system are family, friends and the people around him who know his history, understand his moods, and provide unconditional comforts.
Lunar: The stress of the new?
Solar: It's too stressful about everything, fitting in a new place and accepting a new life. There's nobody familiar around, when everybody's new there.
Lunar: Identity and belonging?
Solar: Someone is always a child at home, a new student at school. Leaving from home to school changes one's identity, leaving him to rebuild his belonging.
Lunar: Loss of control?
Solar: Leaving from familiar home to strange school changes one's understanding of the rules of the surroundings, making him feel powerless and overwhelmed.
Lunar: What do you recommend to deal with homesickness?
Solar: Maintaining home base and creating a life where you are.
Lunar: Maintaining home base?
Solar: To schedule check-ins to schedule weekly video call to family, it ensures quality connection. To share your new life through video call, it helps bridge your two worlds. To bring comforts from home to decorate new space with familiar photos, it links to home. To create new rituals to continue family tradition, it gives a sense of continuity.
Lunar: Creating a life where you are?
Solar: To get involved on campus to attend campus events, it helps you to build your new community and find your people. To explore your new surroundings to find your favorite plot, it helps you to get familiar with new environment. To keep your door open to say yes to invitation, it helps you to start a new friendship. To establish a routine for studying, socializing and personal time, it can be comforting. To focus on the present and future, it helps you to lay down the past and move on. To acknowledge your feeling and take action, it helps you to reduce sad feeling and move on.
Lunar: What kind of question did you ask about homesickness?
Solar: When I stood in front of them at teaching platform, through the windows of eyes, I looked upon them, some in lack of sleep after leaving from their familiar homes to a completely strange environment, asking of how many of you have ever felt your bodies being at school, but your hearts staying at home?
Lunar: How many of them have ever felt their bodies being at school, but their hearts staying at home?
Solar: Wow, all of them.
Lunar: What kind of essay was assigned to them?
Solar: It's an essay about the experience of homesickness. Ask yourself how were you feeling at the first school night? What kind of thing might trigger your homesickness? How did you survive homesickness to begin a new life?
Lunar: May you please tell me some of your students' works?
Solar: The first school night was sleepless, as the other roommates were. We started to share with each other's story. My roommate was lonely prince from a tiny planet called B612, where he lived with his rose. I was his neighbor from the planet B312, 300 feet from his residence. I was not like the other neighbors, I was a man with a dog as my companion. I missed my dog so much. Each time I saw the other dogs, I am reminded of my own dog. One day I met a stray dog on campus. I fed him, as if I fed my own dog. Through having a new companion, I survived my homesickness. Mr Homesickness.
Lunar: Mr Homesickness?
Solar: Mr Homesickness is a dog lover. He was in homesickness, because he missed his own dog very much.
Lunar: The next essay, please.
Solar: The first school night was lonely and sleepless, when there's no rose fragrance in dorm room air. I used to sleep at home filled with rose fragrance, that guided me to dreamland, where was the fragrant sea. I dreamed that I become a butterfly, but when I woke up, I found that I was a prince beside my rose. Each time I saw the other roses, I am reminded of my rose. She was too delicate in need of my care. My roommate had a dog, and asked if he could visit my home with his dog. I rejected, because I worried that his dog might eat my rose, unless his dog wore on a muzzle. Lonely Prince.
Lunar: Lonely Prince is the loneliest one among your students, isn't he?
Solar: Yes. He had an opportunity to establish a new friendship, when his roommate asked if he could visit his home with his dog. He rejected, and then he failed to survive his homesickness through having a new companion. That's why he's so lonely.