Three Steps To Making Real Friends Abroad
Whether you’re traveling solo or in a group, it’s always nice to meet someone new along the way. If you’re an avid traveler, like we are, then you know that special connection you share when meeting abroad. If you’re new to traveling, we are here to help. Traveling for the first time and acquiring company can be difficult for some. Typically making quality friends during trips is easier said than done, and often meeting those of similar nature is even more difficult. There can be factors in the divide such as language barriers, personality differences, colloquial misunderstandings, age gaps, people’s directives can oppose, and even if all those items match, you still may miss that connection you desire. While it is simple enough to meet acquaintances, we are hoping to provide a bit of insight to make sure longer-term friendships ensue. Our goal here is substance and sustainability.
1) Be Yourself, Your Animated Self: Many people may be introverted or some deviation of the sort. What you want to do is put yourself in a zone that makes you fun, interesting, emphasizes your unique qualities (yes, we all have those), and pulls you out of any sort of shell you have. If you’re naturally extroverted, you probably have what you need already, however, make sure to dial back any extreme personality traits because foreign friends may not understand all your quirks just yet. Realize and envision that you’re not at home, you’re not in your routine, you are in a place that is, more or less, a vacation of your body and mind. Maybe you’re used to what people back home think of you, it’s time to break that. You have a fresh start here. Let your personality come out to play, and DO NOT BE AFRAID to embarrass yourself. You’re likely overthinking any situation you’re in, and anything you think is over the top is likely not what others are seeing, so relax. You must leave your comfort zone to succeed, and you will.
2) Be a Good Friend to Others: Work on talking points that you can use. Make a list of subjects and rehearse, if necessary. Often people like to talk about themselves and avoid listening. Listening can make or break a good relationship with any friend. Get to know the other person, show interest, and if you think your mind is blanking, simply work off of the last subject. Branch out the topic at hand into more questions and direct those to things you’ve learned about the person. It’s often much easier to talk about goals, passions, and things people love. Even the most reserved person will break open when you get them discussing what they love. Give it a try. Be that person that others are drawn to because you’re a more appealing conversationalist. These are also traits you can look for yourself in order to weed out any people you meet that you don’t feel any connection with. Bonus note, repeat a person’s name, whether it be in your head or in conversation. Forgetting someone’s name makes for a horrible first impression and it shows lack of care, so do your best to remember this as your very first step.
3) Mindset is Everything: Stay motivated, stay happy, spread positivity. Your mood, more-so your vibe, can dictate a scenario before it even happens. People can sense your presence. Keeping yourself in a state of positive thoughts is an important factor in your associating with others but also the quality of your time traveling. Negative thoughts will drown out your courage and drain you of stamina, so don’t forget to be like Peter Pan and think happy thoughts!
