Having a best friend that lives an entire ocean away can be hard sometimes, and 99.9 percent of the time you will want to be where she is, and she will want to be where you are, but it is probably one of the best things that could ever happen.

One of my best friends lives in Prague, Czech Republic. That’s super far away, considering I live in Kansas. We met in high school when she was a foreign exchange student and our friendship has been something that has allowed me to get really acquainted with technology.

Since high school (4 years ago) we have now seen each other three times, which is a lot considering plane tickets are expensive and we each are college students.

So here are a few reasons why you should invest in foreign friends.

1. Culture Immersion

I have gotten to visit my friend once, and it was probably one of my favorite things I have ever done. We both counted down the days for months. I got to live in a whole new country for almost 6 weeks! I got to learn words in Czech, ride the metro, walk…a lot, go to cool music festivals, and eat lots of great food!

2. Experience

When I visited my friend, I flew all by myself, and that gave me a ton of experience to make friends fast. Especially on 9-hour plane rides, when you might need to go to the bathroom.

3. An Excuse to do Fun Things

My friend will be here for 4 weeks and we have already made a list of things to do in my hometown, and we have a road trip to California planned!

There are so many reasons, and I could go on and on and on about how much I value our friendship, but one thing is for certain, our love for traveling is on the same level and we each anticipate the next time we get to travel together, because we know we will have crazy awesome adventures and create memories that will last a life-time.