In honor of today being national best friend day in the US I’ve been reflecting a lot on friendships, and the way living abroad affects them.
Living abroad affects friendships in many ways, it creates new one, distances old ones but also sheds a lot of light into the strength of certain friendships.
For my existing friendships this experience has really proved to me who my real friends are. The reality is keeping in touch with people back home is hard … things such as having a different phone number, being 6 hours ahead, and just overall being super busy … while this is not an excuse for disconnect, it is a challenge.
But even with the distance, growing up and growing apart from people from home… it has showed me who I can really lean on and rely on. There are people who are far far away in distance, but are there for me when I need it. We don’t get to talk every day, some times we go weeks without talking but the friendship is still just the same. These people back home I still have I know not only do we still have our friendships but also that our friendships have grown and are even stronger.
Then there are the people I have met during my time abroad. Although I have known these people for such a short time, some of these people I’ve met I have extremely strong bonds with. The shared experiences, opening up to people quickly, only having eachother to lean on…. these will form strong and quick bonds.
Not only have the people I’ve met been amazing and supportive friends, but they’ve taught me so much. I’ve learned a lot about the world, different places, different cultures … all this by meeting new people from living abroad. They’ve really been there for me when I’ve needed them. The people you meet abroad in a way become almost like family to you. They’re your support system in both good and bad times. You have no family in the place your living, and probably neither do most of them, so you become really dependent on eachother and form a really great and close bond. Living abroad really shows you how important friendships are…
These people I call my friends have inspired me, as well as incouraged me to do more, to travel more, to live more to have more adventure. I’m so lucky for all the wonderful friends I have in my life, both near and far.
the Confessions of a Wanderer 
It’s so true. I have lived 8 years from “home”. And now I’ve been almost 2 years out if those 8, away from my new home. It’s a challange to be there for the people far away. But I think about how fast and quick, I bonded with them. How they now know me better than my real family, and that a message is at least something you can send, to remind the friend that she is not forgotten.
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i totally agree, the friendships you make living abroad are invaluable… they really are your support system… but living abroad (or apart) also brings another dimension to those already existing friendships. It’s a wonderful thing!
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One of the hardest things about studying abroad for me was having to say goodbye to the friends I made, they’d become like family. I miss them terribly 😦
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when you’re abroad the friendships you make are really important. These people become your friends, your family and your support system all wrapped into one. you share experiences that are unexplainable to others. they really are hard to say goodbye to you, but these are the people who will be in your life for while.
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Though I’ve only lived abroad less than a year, I can’t tell you how much I relate to this. It’s crazy how being 6 hours or 15 hours ahead can make such a difference. Not to mention that you’re living a completely different life from the “normal” life. Being away from my friends has definitely tested our friendships, and some sadly have withered, but the true ones have become stronger than ever.
It’s so hard to go back to them and try to convey how different your life has been without actually having them with you. Words just can’t cut it sometimes.
Sorry for the crazy long comment, but I just wanted to say I’ve been following your blog for the past couple of months and literally every. single. time. you post it’s exactly what I’m going through. Whether that be going back to the states, dealing with friendships, etc. You write beautifully and get what you mean to say across without beating around the bush, yet without being blunt.
Thank you for writing and sharing with us!
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THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU… oh and did i say thank you.
Most of my posts are just ramblings from inside my mind, but to hear these great things from you about them really makes me feel so great. thank you for following my blog and supporting me… i would love to connect with you, if you wanna reach out to me my email is theconfessionsofawanderer@gmail.com
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So true about long distances not getting in the way of the really good friendships we have. I wrote a post called ‘What it means to have a best friend’ . You might enjoy reading it 😊 – Becca
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Awesome! I’ll check it out 🙂
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Becca, I will definitely check it out! thanks for reading my post 🙂
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Cool post. I know too well the value of friendship when you are away from home.
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I couldn’t agree more! I think you realize you have a true friendship, a special connection with someone when you see that person after a very long time and so many things have happened and even changed in between, but at the same time, it’s like you have never parted!
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true friendships don’t let distance or time get in the way. they’re strong enough that these things don’t affect it.
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That’s a nice post. I too have been surprised by which of my friends make contact and keep me connected to their lives and which don’t bother. The same can be said for my family!
It’s great for you that you have built strong bonds in Spain that are functional! My experience of living in Norway for 11 months (so far) is a bit different to yours in that I haven’t yet made any true friendships here. I’m in a different age and status category because I’m here with my family and I hadn’t learnt Norwegian before I came.
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Very well put. I spent a short while (3 years) in the US but the friendships, after almost a decade are holding up well. 🙂 p.s. thanks for stopping by.
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That’s really refreshing to know that your friendships survived… When friendships are real, distance doesn’t mean anything, the friendship is still there.
Thanks for checking out my blog
xxx
Sam
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