Relationships abroad come in all shapes and sizes. It’s important to find ways to keep some of your routines from home while you’re abroad, but you should also be willing to accept something foreign, new, and outside your comfort zone.

Being uncomfortable in a new country is a natural inevitability, it represents the embracing of something new, which will, in turn, lead to individual growth. This, among others, is one of the many reasons traveling abroad will expand your mind and skillset.

There are various relationships that you will encounter while abroad. These relationships refer, not just, to the people around you, but also, to your hobbies, work, friends and family back home.

New Friends

Moving to a new country means cultivating a new group of friends. Chances are during your first few days you will find a solid group of friends amongst the people in your living accommodations. Since everything around you is new and exciting it becomes much easier to put yourself out there – take advantage of this brazen bravery, it’s a good thing.

As your life continues to grow and evolve try to keep in touch with the people you meet along the way. Some people may simply be passing by and others will create a more permanent impression. Either way, these people are all going to help mold you into yourself.

Old Friends

Just as it’s important to keep in touch with friends in your new country, it’s equally important to keep in contact with your friends back home. Particularly for those people planning on staying for more than one or two years.

One of the most important parts of life are the people we meet along the way. They will help us in tough parts of our lives and be there to enjoy the good ones. Although a true friend will be friends with you through thick and thin, a “hello” here and there wouldn’t hurt – especially with the abundance of social media.

Send a snapchat or two.

Family

Keep in touch with your family on a regular basis.

You’re in a foreign country that they likely have no idea about. For all they know you may have been inducted into the mafia and have become a kingpin…Let them know you’re still alive.

Getting into a routine schedule also makes it difficult to cross the timezone barrier (it’s twelve hours for me). Setting up specific days and times will help alleviate some of those issues.

Hobbies and Interests

This one is pretty important for me. Hobbies and interests play a significant role in my life. The big one for is sports, particularly volleyball. A large portion of my life in the States revolved around volleyball so when coming to Taiwan it was really important to find places to play.

For a period of time, I was not able to fit sports into my schedule. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was becoming more and more irritable and I overall felt unfulfilled. When I finally was able to do some physical activities I could comprehend their true importance.

By not playing volleyball on a regular basis, like I did back home, made me feel like a big part of my life was missing. Although I loved my life in Taiwan and found enjoyment from being around new friends, seeing new places, traveling, and teaching, I still needed that part of home. That part of my life.

With our globalizing world, it’s becoming easier to find that our interests traverse a variety of different places and cultures.

As you take your journey to becoming a world traveler remember to savor moments from home while concurrently embracing new ones.

Have you lived abroad for a significant amount of time? Are you currently living abroad? How do you deal with the different kinds of relationships mentioned above? Do you have any new ones to add?