What if you get homesick during your summer camp counsellor season in America?

What if you get homesick during your summer camp counsellor season in America?

Somewhere between submitting your application and boarding the plane, this thought tends to turn up uninvited: what if I get over there and just want to come home?

It's one of the quieter worries about doing a summer camp in America, the one people don't put in their Instagram captions.

It's also a completely normal thing to feel, and it deserves an honest answer rather than a brush-off.

The nerves usually start before you even leave

For most applicants, the anxious part isn't actually camp itself. It's everything leading up to it, the interview, the visa paperwork, the not knowing exactly what you're walking into. Emma H, a verified Trustpilot reviewer, described her own nerves easing once she'd had a proper conversation with the team: "The virtual hiring fair was so easy to work and i felt so welcome and not nervous at all for my interview as i had a pre interview chat which helped alot."

That pattern holds for most people.

The unknown feels much bigger than the thing itself once you're actually in it.

Some homesickness at camp is genuinely normal

You're 18 to mid-twenties, you've likely never been away from New Zealand for eight to ten weeks straight, and you've landed somewhere in rural America surrounded by strangers, a new accent, and a schedule that doesn't pause for jet lag.

A flicker of homesickness in week one isn't a sign you've made the wrong call. It's a sign you're a normal person doing something genuinely new.

We'd rather tell you that upfront than let you think something's wrong with you when it happens.

Why it tends to fade faster than people expect

Camp doesn't leave much room to sit and stew. Your days are full from the first whistle to lights out, and everyone around you, campers and fellow counsellors alike, is going through some version of the same adjustment.

Most counsellors say the ache is sharpest in the first week or so and largely gone by the second, replaced by friendships that don't usually form this fast anywhere else.

There's also something to be said for having a job to do. Homesickness has a much harder time taking hold when a cabin full of kids needs you at 7am.

You're not managing it completely on your own

A normal working holiday USA visa can mean landing in a new country with nobody checking in on how you're actually doing. A summer camp counsellor placement is different. Camp directors and senior staff are on site specifically to look after counsellors, not just campers, and AmeriCamp stays in the picture for the whole season rather than disappearing after your visa comes through. We have a team in the USA for same time zone support too.

Mj, a verified Trustpilot reviewer, summed up what that support looks like from the applicant side: "Whenever I've had questions, the AmeriCamp team has been quick to respond and incredibly helpful. They've made what could have been a stressful process feel easy and exciting instead."

Is it worth the risk of feeling homesick

Almost every counsellor who's finished a season will tell you the same thing: the homesick week or two is a small price for what comes after it. Eight to ten weeks with food and accommodation covered, decent pay in your pocket, and a group of people you'll stay in touch with long after summer ends.

Camp season runs June to August, which lines up neatly with the New Zealand winter you'd otherwise be sitting through at home anyway.

Homesickness doesn't mean you're not cut out for a summer camp counsellor role.

It means you're human, and it's something almost every camp counsellor works through on the way to a season they'd do again.

AmeriCamp NZ is run out of Auckland by the NZ AmeriCamp team - International Working Holidays. We're backed by over 24 years of placing New Zealanders at summer camps across the USA. The application is free to start and our NZ team is with you every step of the way.

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