Spending time with friends and doing self-care activities, students say, help them with homesickness during the holidays
Despite being far away from home, BYU–Hawaii students said they still find ways to enjoy Christmas time by going to the beach, surfing and spending time with others. Christmas is supposed to be the time people spend with their families, said Jatuphon Phakdeerat, a sophomore from Thailand majoring in business management. “I feel two things about this. I miss my family but it’s alright. Everything is the way it is supposed to be,” he said.
Cultural differences
Phakdeerat expressed gratitude for his family’s trust and understanding regarding his distance from them. He said he aims to repay their trust by excelling in his studies, achieving success and ultimately graduating. “We have a lot of holidays, and it happens every year,” he said. He said he can always spend the holidays with his family after he graduates.
Phakdeerat explained back home, his family did not celebrate Christmas before because they were Buddhist, but later when he studied in a Christian school, they started celebrating it. He said, “My family would go to my high school and watch me dance, and after that, we would eat dinner together.”
Paula Graciella Butones, a freshman from Pangasinan, Philippines majoring in psychology and social work, said the first time she celebrated Christmas far from home was when she served a full-time mission and the second time was when she came to BYUH. She said, “Christmas here is a bit different compared to the Philippines.” She explained even with the lights and the holiday greetings, she had a hard time feeling the Christmas spirit.
Butones said she missed getting together with her family and relatives for Christmas. She said her family will all wait for the clock to strike 12 before eating and opening gifts together. Butones said she arrived on campus last year with other students from the Philippines on Sunday, Dec. 25 and the campus was quiet because most students were away on vacation. She said, “We ate at the cafeteria and slept most of the day.”
Jiung Kim, a senior from Korea majoring in hospitality and tourism management, said her family doesn’t celebrate Christmas. “We just stay at home and greet each other with the phrase ‘Merry Christmas,’” she said. Coming to BYUH was the first time she did something for the holidays, and she said she had fun.
“I went to town with my friends, walked around the temple, ate food and visited the Christmas tree at the Flag Circle,” she said.
Ways to enjoy being away from home
Phakdeerat said his self-care activities during the holiday season while away from home are doing what he loves most. He expressed one of the things he loves is going to the gym and exercising. “Exercising in the gym makes me feel relaxed and strong. It enables me to maintain good mental health and feel more enthusiastic,” he said.
He noted another self-care activity he does is hanging out with friends and watching a movie. He said he considers this self care because it helps him relax as well. Lastly, he shared he loves to go to the beach, hike the mountains with friends and connect with nature to heal from all the stress of studying and working hard.
Butones said she enjoys doing skincare as her Christmas self-care activity. She said, “I like eating fruits, riding my bike and spending time for myself.” She said although the Christmas traditions are different from her home country’s, not only her but also everyone away from home must try to incorporate the traditions they have and celebrate with friends to make it feel like home.
Kim said she has never felt homesick but rather kept herself distracted. “When I am not in a good mood [or start missing someone], I will stay in my room and watch YouTube or sleep.” Kim explained even though she does not like missing people, she still wants to talk to others with whom she can share her feelings with and make her feel better.
Kim said she will be staying for the upcoming holiday and plan to experience surfing during the Christmas season. She said despite the changing seasons, the weather in Hawaii is still hot compared to her home country. She said, “I think that is something unique in Hawaii.”