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Hi there! I am Jenna, from Wall Street English. Today I am going to share Tips For Making Friends Abroad.
1. Be Brave
Go to things alone. You are also much more open and approachable when you’re not surrounded by a posse. Isn’t it crazy to think that you could travel half way across the world, leaving friends and family, and still one of the scariest things to do is go to a bar by yourself? Just remember: deep breaths, after all what’s the worst that can happen?
2. Try activities outside of the norm
Maybe join a tour group, an activity popular with similar travelers like yourself on the quest for adventure.
3. Sign up for classes
It could be the easiest you’d ever have it abroad, because a university setting provides the perfect infrastructure for making friends. A cesspool of similar-aged people, and all you have to do is laugh with your class mate about something in the class’s topic in order to strike up a conversation.
4. Change your outlook
Don’t consider it defeat if you don’t make a ton of local friends. Locals can be harder to meet than expats, and while they’re great for the language thing, ANY FRIEND, from any background, is all you need to avoid asking for a table for one at brunch.
5. Follow up
What lies between acquaintances and friends? Yes, it is indeed follow up. Someone doesn’t magically convert into a friend overnight—you need to keep at the relationship. This inevitably means you’ll be drinking more mid-day coffees or beers than you can really handle (or afford) in a week. But someday, a chat over coffee will turn into a day at the beach, a movie, a brunch, even a visit home.
But of course, new friendships are one of the reasons we head abroad in the first place. New friends keep us from hopping the plane back home the minute we’re having a rough time. So get comfortable being by yourself when you travel abroad. Then push yourself to get out there.
Well, that’s all for today, see you next time!
