Ione found a good article on homesickness.  We need to include a session on homesickness in our post-arrival briefing to helpers.  Below is the sidebar of tips they gave for dealing with homesickness: 

TIPS FOR HOMESICKNESS

1. Stay engaged. Take part in college activities or even freshman camps to forget about homesick feelings and make new friends. 

2. Establish a personal routine. "If you are someone who goes to bed early and everyone's staying up late, it's OK to go to bed early," says psychologist Josh Klapow. 

3. Do something to feel closer to home. Write a letter, look at a family photo. 

4. Talk to someone. Seek out people who either understand what you're going through or have similar feelings. Pity parties in this case aren't a bad thing, says Klapow. "It's sort of like a grief support group."

5. Time flies. Think that time is actually pretty short to make time go by faster.