Last weekend was Thanksgiving, and while I was thankful for the time I got to spend with family and friends I also reflected on the opportunities I have had to travel over the last year. The experiences were fantastic from Guadalajara, Mexico to Barcelona, Spain to Atlanta, Georgia I got the opportunity to experience a lot of different places.
While I am thankful for each of those experiences I have come to realize that what I value more are the friendships that I gained. Travel has this way of bringing people together.
Flying into Guadalajara last January I was nervous because the group of students that I would be living with for the next three weeks ranged from strangers to acquaintances. After three weeks of being together 24 hours per day, it felt like I had known this group of people my entire life. Similarly upon setting out for Barcelona this fall I found that leaving the trip I again had three new people in my life to call my friends.
Upon reflecting on my travel experiences from 2015, I come up with a few reasons why studying abroad/traveling can create some of the best friendships.
1. There is no one else
When you travel on your own, especially in a study abroad situation you leave behind your friends and family that you have known for years. You are placing yourself in a situation much like the first day of college where you don't know anyone. Remember how quickly you made friends upon arriving to college out of the need to connect with other people. Traveling on your own creates that same need to connect, and all you need to do is just be open to the possibilities.
2. You get lost together
When you are abroad in a strange city or country. Simply learning to navigate your way around is a bonding activity. You wander from corner to corner trying to get your bearings. You wind up places that you probably shouldn't. You stumble into either authentic local restaurants or fantastically crappy tourist traps. Getting lost is a key travel experience because it requires vulnerability and it creates an openness among strangers based on your shared experience. On that note I do want to say do not ever intentionally put yourself in a bad situation for the sake of making memories.
3. The memories that last a lifetime
Travel cultivates the memories and people that will always share them with you. Eventually your friends and family back home will get tired of hearing your stories about places and people that they do not know. Traveling and studying abroad you develop relationships with people based on your shared experiences, and those shared experiences are what will help you to maintain your travel buddy friendships long after the experience has passed.
Right now, I am preparing to head abroad for a semester in Barranquilla, Colombia, and while I can try to prepare for everything I am looking forward to being thrust into new situations with strange people, getting lost, bonding over our shared experiences because nothing brings people together like travel, and the vulnerability traveling to new places requires.
