- Even with virtual family dinners and messaging app hangouts
with friends, 74 percent of international students say it’s the
sounds of home they miss the most
- Yet despite the initial challenges of moving overseas, they
overwhelmingly agree that studying abroad has a positive, lasting
impact (99 percent)
- HSBC has created Sounds of Home – a series of global
soundscapes for Spotify, Apple Music and iTunes designed to
transport international students back to their home
countries
From keeping a seat at the table for virtual family dinners to
staying up to date on the lives of friends, research by HSBC shows
the majority of international students are using technology like
video calls, Instagram, WeChat and WhatsApp (97 percent) to connect
with friends and family – but this doesn’t stop them from missing
home.
Ninety-two percent of international students say that they miss
the familiarities of home while studying overseas, with almost six
in 10 (57 percent) saying it’s the sensory experience they miss
most and three quarters (74 percent) specifically missing the
sounds of their hometown. International students identified the
sound of people talking in their native language (50 percent), the
hustle and bustle of local markets (26 percent), the rumble of
public transport (25 percent) and birds, insects or native animals
(20 percent) as the sounds they are most likely to miss.
According to the UNESCO Institute of Statistics, there are
nearly 1 million students studying in the US from abroad. To help
these international students, as well as those studying in other
parts of the globe, achieve their goals and feel connected to home,
HSBC has released Sounds of Home, a series of global soundscapes,
crowd-sourced and created by international influencers. The tracks
feature sounds such as a traditional clapping exercise in Taiwan,
India’s Temple Bhajan, a durian seller in Singapore and the waves
of Malaysia’s Pantai beach. Each will be available on YouTube here
and on all major music streaming channels (e.g. Spotify, Apple
Music and Tidal). HSBC also captured the process behind recording
and compiling these evocative sounds. To see more, go here.
While moving overseas is an exciting adventure for students,
which they say has a positive, lasting impact (99 percent), it can
take some time to adjust. Two in five (43 percent) international
students feel homesick at least once a week or more. Nearly half
(49 percent) believe missing family and friends has impacted their
academic performance, and two in five (40 percent) say being away
from home has affected their ability to get a good night’s sleep.
Homesickness is particularly prominent late at night from 10 p.m.
to 12 a.m.
Baroness Susan Greenfield, former fellow at The University of
Oxford and CEO of Nero-Bio Ltd said:
“International students were born into a
connected, digital era, but the majority still miss their familiar
lifestyles in the real world. Whilst it’s reassuring that this
young generation is not living in a cyber-parallel universe, the
challenge is how to off-set the absence of family, friends,
location and language in tangible new ways.
“Sounds and smells are – more than the other
three senses – the most pervasive and the least contextual. Perhaps
sounds are so important in homesickness because they are hard to
encapsulate in a specific, single memory, and play a bigger role in
our on-going consciousness. Sound also allows room for imagination,
conjuring up in your mind a personal scenario. This means sound can
be used to good effect to induce a sense of personal
well-being.”
Despite facing a range of challenges, including setting up a
bank account in their country of study (35 percent) and setting
aside enough money to be able to travel home (40 percent),
independence and new experiences are most commonly seen as benefits
of studying abroad (60 percent). Eighty-four percent of
international students believe they have not only gained new
skills, but have also become stronger people.
Paul Mullins, HSBC’s Regional Head of International for North
America, said:
“There are many benefits to studying abroad –
new adventures, new skills and independence – but that doesn’t stop
you from missing the familiarity of home. As someone from the UK
who has lived and worked abroad, including now in the United
States, I know what it’s like to feel homesick.
“Sounds of Home helps international students
feel closer to the people and places they love. These soundscapes
were created to complement the financial guidance and support we
provide as a leading bank for international students all over the
world. It’s another way in which HSBC is a reassuring presence for
students who are away from home, helping them to navigate the
fulfilling and challenging world of international study.”
For more information about HSBC’s International Services visit:
https://internationalservices.hsbc.com/index/overseas-education/
Note to editors:
The research
The Sounds of Home is an independent consumer research study
into the experience of international students commissioned by HSBC.
It provides authoritative insights into the emotional toll of
moving to a new country as a student and explores perceptions of
homesickness and living in an unfamiliar country.
The findings represent the views of 897 international students
from 11 countries and territories: Australia, mainland China,
France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, UK
and USA.
The research is based on a sample of students aged 17 - 29 years
old who are current international students or who have studied
abroad in the last 5 years and was conducted between 12th June 2019
and 24th June 2019.
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