6 Friends You Make While Studying Abroad
Studying abroad is a great opportunity to make friends from across the country and around the globe who you wouldn't otherwise meet. Some of the usual social bubbles of hometowns and colleges fall away, and you may become close with people you wouldn't have gotten to know under different circumstances. Navigating a new city and culture with these new friends can bring you super close, very fast. Because of these shared experiences, there's something extra special about the relationships you develop while studying abroad.
Here are just a few of the types of friends you are bound to make during your semester:
1) The housemate(s) who you bond with immediately
You meet them through your housing option- be it at a Homestay network event, in your Kollegium common room, or at a LLC dinner. You quickly connect over a shared love for a given movie or book, and then discover that you have nearly identical taste. Your friendship deepens every time you fawn over the same piece of art in a museum or the same piece of clothing in a store. You two may be annoying to be around because you're always comparing references, but if others don't recognize Wes Anderson's Prada ads color palette when they see it, that's their loss.
2) The acquaintance from college who you become close friends with
You knew each other in college through mutual friends or classes in common, and end up going on the same study-abroad program. You spend a lot of time together the first few weeks, especially before you each make your own new friends. You see each other occasionally to see a familiar friend and talk nostalgically of college back home, the friends you miss, and connect over a common homesickness.
3) The high-school classmate whom you never thought you'd see again but have rekindled a friendship with
When you said goodbye at graduation and signed HAGS in their yearbook you thought it you be the last time you see them. But by some odd coincidence they end up on the same study-abroad program as you. You might even have a class together or live near each other if you're really lucky. You meet up just to catch up and gossip about old high-school friends, and discover that you have more in common than you remembered and rekindle a friendship.
4) The pal who's always up for a weekend trip or last-minute adventure
They've always got a day trip idea or a cool spot to check out in mind. Any time you mention a city they suggest going for a quick weekend trip. They've got a special gift for finding AirBnBs that are the right balance between cheap and sketchy. A good friend to have, although it can be hard to see each other as they spend every weekend in a different city.
5) The buddy who's always got a camera in hand
They're always snapping away and asking you to pose in front of different historical landmarks, touristy views, or instagram worthy backgrounds. This is an important friend to have to fill your social media needs and to have nice photos to send home to mom and dad.
I aware that I am often the photographer friend. I'm sorry and you're welcome.
6) The local who shows you around
You meet them through your visiting host family or by volunteering at the Studenterhuset or at your local bar. They quickly take you under their wing, share insider scoops with you, and take you to spots off the beaten path. This is an essential friend to have and keep if you want to return and visit in years to come.
Illustrations made my my housemates Isabella, Makena, and Kelsey (see friend type #1).
A different form of blog post inspired by Harling Ross's terrific article for Man Repeller.
*Broad generalization have been made for the sake of this article. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is, well, not to be taken too literally.