The costs of going home for international students

By: Arshia Kochar

BELLEVILLE – Every year, thousands of students travel across the world to come to Canada to pursue studies and for a better future. There is a lifestyle change and a sense of becoming independent. Even though their schedules are full of studies, work, meeting new people, and exploring a whole new place, there remains a void that can never be filled. That void is called “home.”.

“It is not as easy as it sounds, just packing our bags and going to India,” says Lovepreet Singh, a student at Loyalist College who hasn’t visited India in the last 2 years. He says the cost of travel and bringing gifts for the family scares him.

For many international students who come here, they are not just alone but lonely. Homesickness, seasonal depression , doing everything on their own and making the ends meet takes a toll on them.  For many, thoughts of home and returning home are never very far away.

But there are drawbacks to going home beyond just the cost of doing so.  

 “How will I be able to come back?,” says Sahil, another student who moved to Canada 3 years ago and has not visited India since. He feels that the emotional cost of leaving your family and coming back would be way more than the travel cost.

“I cannot just say bye again and come back here; I need to be way more emotionally strong if I really want to visit,” added Sahil.

“Money is not an issue; my wife and I are separated, and I want to visit her more, but how can I? I have a life here as well,” says Hamoud Alsamsam, another Loyalist student who moved to Canada in December 2022. He wishes he could visit more, as staying away from his wife is so emotionally draining for him, but he cannot compromise on the life he has created here.

Sandeep Kaur, a journalism student at Loyalist college has been living separately from her husband from more than a year now. 

“I wish we could spend our first anniversary together, first Diwali together but what can I do. I am already balancing between work and studies and trying to save up for my tuition fees. I cannot even think about going back to India.” says Kaur. 

Kaur also shares that there is a constant battle in her mind as the time passes by. 

“My family misses me a lot. I wish I could do something.” she added. 

Emma Shane Photo by: Arshia Kochar

Emma Shane, another international student from the States, is in the same boat as the others. Even though she lives just across the border from her home country it’s a challenge for her to pay visits to her family more often.

“You miss your family a lot; you wish you could see them more, but because of finances, it makes it harder,” says Shane.