If you ask someone about homesickness, most people will tell you that it is when you miss the people you care about and are used to seeing every day and when every little thing reminds you of them. If you dig deeper, or ask someone who says they have actually experienced it (like a missionary or someone who has lived abroad), they will tell you that it is missing bits of "home."
Collectively, I have learned homesickness is something completely different than what I thought it was. It is when you long for pine trees, their smell, their silhouette. Or when you cry when you look out your window because you don't see any mountains. Or even when you crave pizza or Captain Crunch. It is all of these things collectively, along with the knowledge that everyone that you know that have these things are moving on with their lives while you are struggling to adjust to a new culture.
But at this point, I don't care. I am over that hump where I realized I'm leaving and my host family was real- and trust me, that was a bigger realization than you would think. I am so ready to miss people and little things from home. It's a weird feeling on a multitude of levels, but now I can really enjoy my summer! I am going to drag different people to cool southern Oregon places and take lots of pictures, and maybe even scrap-book. Hopefully, I will improve my Russian a little as well. And then I am going to go to Krasnoyarsk and meet all of the schoolmates that have "friended" me on Facebook. And, maybe, miss eating Captain Crunch.
Paratus? YES!
