Homesick over the Holidays?

[teacher100]

My son is interested in doing the CP or CS. He is a Senior in High School and I think it would be good for him to do Career Start in the fall before he starts college. My only concern is that he will get homesick since they do not get the holidays off. I was wondering in some of you could add some insight.

 

[graygables]

I had 2 DDs go thru the CP as have I. I was also a leader to many CPs over this past Christmas. My observations are that they create a new "family" and, for the most part, "bloom where you are planted". We had holiday gatherings at work and, in some cases, CMs would invite CPs over to celebrate with them. Most of the time, they are so busy with work and activities that there isn't much time to be homesick unless they are already inclined that direction from the start. I made a point of not feeding that with my DDs and did my best to make them feel at home where they were.

 

[vickalamode]

I don't know how it would work out with your schedule since you said you want him to start college in the spring, but he could always do the career start in the spring. The reasons you described are the exact reasons why I am doing the spring CP, because I couldn't deal with being homesick over the holidays

 

[Scully12]

My boyfriend and his brother did the college program during the Fall. The boys weren't really sad to not be at home...it was their parents that were sad the boys weren't going to be there for the holidays.

By November and December CPs have tons of new friends and they're working so much home isn't always at the forefront of the mind.

You can always plan a trip to visit him around that time if either he starts feeling home sick or you miss him! CPs love when parents visit because it means they don't have to microwave dinner for once

 

[ConstanceIrene]

My daughter did the Fall 2009 program. She had her ups and downs and was mildly homesick around the holidays. There were, however, many "family" dinners and gatherings that made the holidays special for the CPs. She and her roommates had a Christmas tree and so many lights put up that they were told by management to take some down. Many of the kids' families came down to visit, but we couldn't so my daughter surrounded herself with her Disney family.

DD knew that she was to have her big Thanksgiving dinner when she got home, as well as Christmas dinner and all the goodies in between. We left the tree up and her presents were waiting for her on January 4th when she arrived home. She felt like she had 2 holiday seasons and is now telling people that she had "the time of her life" at WDW.

Frankly, those kids are worked so hard during the holiday weeks that they can barely remember what day it is!

 

[MAGGIED]

I worry about this also.... my DD has applied for the fall and is waiting to hear...had her phone interview last night.... while she is away at college it is only 45 minutes from home so we see each other often... I don't think we have gone more than 2 weeks without seeing her EVER... I think she will be fine... its her parents I worry about... I am going to try and talk DH into a trip down in December if she is accepted.....

 

[~Zephyr~]

I was down there for 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. In fact, my first day of work was on Memorial Day. I didn't think about it that much, I was pretty happy where I was and I kept telling myself, "I'll see my family and friends again soon enough, but now I'm gonna have fun with my friends down here." It's really not that bad, some of the older CMs look out for the CPs and ICPs and we all have a good time. So I wouldn't worry about it. Plus, my birthday is on Friday and I kinda wish I was still there.

 

[ConstanceIrene]

I'm going to ask my daughter to post on this thread so she can share her experience of being away from home for the holidays.

 

[MAGGIED]

I'm going to ask my daughter to post on this thread so she can share her experience of being away from home for the holidays.

that would be great... us nervous moms and dads would really like to hear it from the students perspective.... thanks

 

[dnoyes]

I'm going to ask my daughter to post on this thread so she can share her experience of being away from home for the holidays.

I'll do the same, my daughter just returned Jan 2nd (fall 09) She was homesick for the first few weeks but what I think was really hard on her was us leaving after a visit in November. If I had it to do over again I don't think we would do that.

 

[ConstanceIrene]

I was a CP in the Fall 2009 semester. This was my first time away from home and i cried during the entire flight. My first month was so hard that I thought about quitting. I cried myself to sleep so many times. One night, I heard my roommate crying and we both just stayed up and cried and twenty minutes later another roommate joined us. The great thing about the disney college program is that everyone is in the same boat and it's hard for everyone to be away from their families-even the students who go away to college.

What made it hard to adjust was so many little things. Your schedule in disney is busy and demanding, but I learned there was always time to have fun. I knew I was going to have home cooked meals or sit down and watch a movie with my dad. You are on your own. So my roommates and I started cooking meals together every night and we borrowed movies from the learning center to watch together.

It doesn't remain hard. A lot of CP's that were leaving two weeks after I got there told us to push through the first month and then it is the time of your life.

I remember around the holiday season walking into work with some friends and we all started hugging each other in the breakroom. I cried during my Thanksgiving day shift and the amount of support you get from other CP's is incredible. We knew that everyday we would see families together and that we wouldn't see ours, but you grow a bond with the people you work with. You become a family and we kept each other's spirits up. We sang Christmas songs together and learned them in other languages. The full timers made us Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner and had us over to celebrate the new year.

On our breaks, we all called our families. Everyone shared what that holiday is like in their state and it was a great experience introducing Thanksgiving to the ICP's.

Christmas day wasn't as hard because by that time Disney has been celebrating Christmas for two months. Christmas day is so busy that it didn't truly feel like Christmas. I celebrated Christmas with my family when I came home.

Hope this helps. If you or your son/daughter has any questions, I will be happy to answer them. )

 

[GreatWideSomewhere]

I'll do the same, my daughter just returned Jan 2nd (fall 09) She was homesick for the first few weeks but what I think was really hard on her was us leaving after a visit in November. If I had it to do over again I don't think we would do that.

I'm on the other side of this, but I would have to say that I agree. While I wasn't too homesick during my program, my roommate was incredibly so. She cried a lot and tried my best to keep her busy and having fun. She was just getting to the point of really adjusting after the first month when her family came down for a visit. And once they left, it all started over again. Since they lived only a few hours away by car, they visited often. Unfortunately, after we finished the program, we both agreed that it would have probably been easier on both us if her family had only come once.

It's different for everyone, of course! Having webcams on both of our computers were lifesavers for us! I know that both of us really missed our pets and being able to see and talk to them via webcam really helped. (of course we got to talk to our parents/siblings too!

 

[teacher100]

Thanks everyone! My son faxed his Career Start application today! He is really excited. I hope if he gets accepted and decides to go in the fall he can make some great friends like all of you seem to be!

 

[bopnopper9]

I think it really depends on the person. Some students handle it better than others.

I did the program Fall '09. It was my first time away from home for the holidays, but I go to college in Idaho and my parents live in Virginia. I have no problem being away from home, but I'll admit having my first birthday, Thanksgiving, AND Christmas away from home was rough. Especially because I had to work every one of those days.

BUT I still had the time of my life and am applying to go down there again this coming Fall 2010. The positives out weighed the negatives for me. We had all kinds of cast parties, decorations, free food, etc. It wasn't the same as being with my family, but they really tried hard to make it a positive experience anyway.

I did have some friends who cried a lot. Some students didn't show signs that they cared even the slightest. It really depends on the person.

 

[MAGGIED]

My DD receoved her acceptance email today so it is official that she is going.... Aug 23rd to Jan 7th.... she chose a later arrival date because she wants to take some summer classess.... that means all the holidays and family birthdays away from home... I think it will be harder on us than on her... I know she will be having fun.... I know I will miss her very much..... we might try to visit in November for her 21st birthday.... but I would guess she will be working all the holidays so we will stay away from those times....

 

[maggiemay1029]

My DD receoved her acceptance email today so it is official that she is going.... Aug 23rd to Jan 7th.... she chose a later arrival date because she wants to take some summer classess.... that means all the holidays and family birthdays away from home... I think it will be harder on us than on her... I know she will be having fun.... I know I will miss her very much..... we might try to visit in November for her 21st birthday.... but I would guess she will be working all the holidays so we will stay away from those times....

awwwee mother its going to stink but your right i will at least have disney there to make me feel better!! as i told micahel it will be here and gone before we know it

 

[Iris]

My daughter is applying for the CareerStart Fall 2010 Program - she has her phone interview tomorrow actually.

She is extremely outgoing and has pretty much grown up Disney so I think the transition will be relatively easy for her. I think the hardest thing she will have to get used to is cooking for herself. She does her own laundry now and has a part time job so she is used to working.

I think it will be more difficult for me as she is my "baby" and after she leaves there will be no kids at home. We have already thought about visiting during the holiday season as we are DVC members but most likely it will be in between Thanksgiving and Christmas rather than during one of those holidays as I expect she will be busy with work at that time.

We are hoping this will be an experience of a life time. She has dreamed of this all of her life so I think it will be all good.

 

[maggiemay1029]

My daughter is applying for the CareerStart Fall 2010 Program - she has her phone interview tomorrow actually.

She is extremely outgoing and has pretty much grown up Disney so I think the transition will be relatively easy for her. I think the hardest thing she will have to get used to is cooking for herself. She does her own laundry now and has a part time job so she is used to working.

I think it will be more difficult for me as she is my "baby" and after she leaves there will be no kids at home. We have already thought about visiting during the holiday season as we are DVC members but most likely it will be in between Thanksgiving and Christmas rather than during one of those holidays as I expect she will be busy with work at that time.

We are hoping this will be an experience of a life time. She has dreamed of this all of her life so I think it will be all good.

fingers crossed for her!!! ya thats pretty much how i was raised to. DISNEY!!! Its great though. Ya I think the holidays are going to be tough because we are there working so even if people came down its not like we could hang out with that much . Hopefully she'll get in. Im sure she will though