By Lauren Evans

Hiraeth – a Welsh word that staunchly denies any direct English translation, yet echoes a feeling that many of us feel tug upon our hearts as students away from home. As defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, Hiraeth regards a deep longing, yearning, or nostalgia for a person or thing which is absent or lost. Chiefly used in reference to Welsh Culture and Language, Hiraeth often references a person’s heartfelt longing for their homeland and culture – a homesickness for the very places and upbringing that marks their being today.

As a Welsh student, exactly 308 miles away from my hometown in South Wales, moving to university was the first time this word truly resonated with me. To me, Hiraeth gave word to the profound feeling of homesickness and grief I had for not just being so far from my family, but the community that had provided my every experience up until University. To me, Hiraeth spoke to the longing I began to feel for the unique aspects of being Welsh that moving to England had neglected – to the Welsh road signs that convolute my every car ride, or the familiarity of a Valley’s accent. 

Hiraeth gave word to the profound feeling of homesickness and grief I had for not just being so far from my family, but the community that had provided my every experience up until University

Whilst my moving away was not the same culture shock that must be experienced by many international students experiencing Durham, I found my living here an adjustment that made my heart ache and long for home at times. From our annual Eisteddfod (a Welsh festival of art and culture) in primary school, to the friendliness of a village that had lived there all their lives, much of what I had grown to love at home, I sorely missed at university – wherein I found the word Hiraeth to embody exactly what I missed, without the words to piece it together. 

Yet, in moving away, I found myself seeking my home and culture everywhere that it wasn’t – and finding it. Similar in their industrial mining and rural history, much of living in the Northeast reminded me of living at home – from the mining terrace houses to the sense of local pride in a community’s achievements. The familiarity of a Welsh accent became the familiarity of a Northern one, and, upon visiting the likes of Lindisfarne and Seahouses, the beauty of the rural landscapes rivalled that of the Welsh Coast. So much of living here, and exploring Newcastle, reminded me of being Welsh, in a way I could never have expected – I just had to focus on what I love about Durham that reminded me of what I love about home.

So much of living here, and exploring Newcastle, reminded me of being Welsh, in a way I could never have expected – I just had to focus on what I love about Durham that reminded me of what I love about home

Though the pangs of homesickness still hit me, even as I am no longer a fresher, I find solace in finding bits of home from home, whether that be finding pockets of joy when a Welsh turn of phrase is also used up North, or wearing my daffodil in solidarity on St David’s day. Whilst a word of Welsh origin and use, I think the poignant feeling of Hiraeth is a feeling that is echoed by many who have moved away for University – a feeling not just of longing for your family, but the familiarity of a  community you know so well, and are so integrated within. To that, I would urge that, when those pangs hit, and they will, that you take an inventory of all the small things you love about home, and seek them at university. You’ll be surprised at just how much is similar.

Home in University is what you make of it, and when that homesickness really kicks in, I take pride in the Hiraeth that keeps me connected to my home, and able to make a home here.

Image Credit: Lauren Evans