There is an underlying rule about travelling that will make your trip even more amazing than you already know it will be: It’s the people you meet along the way, that make your experience unforgettable.
Whilst travelling, you’re guaranteed to cross paths with the greatest people to walk this earth, no lie.
Yes i’m sure you have your ‘home’ friends, and yes i’ll take your word for it that they are amazing. But the souls you meet whilst travelling, connecting yourselves via an invisible web to the countries where you met, and the countries that they are from, will always build the ultimate friendships.
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In saying this, I met my Swedish best friend in my own backyard, both figuratively and physically speaking. She was a friend of a friend, who started living with my brothers best friend, who is also my good friend, and then somehow we met because “OMG a Swedish person in a small Aussie town!!!” – We have been best friends ever since, and have travel the world together.
Yes, FaceTime is epic – and very convenient in this day and age, but so is face to face conversations (or insults if you are truly friends). It’s not so much the fear of missing out (or ‘FOMO’ as some cringe worthy people put it), but the fact you are missing out on all the important events occurring in your friends lives.
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Reality is a harsh thing and in no time, after adding another life long friend to your ever growing list of internationals, you’ll be repeating the dreaded sentence; “We’ll see each other soon, I promise!”, whilst you pray that this time, it’s not a lie.
Social media is a great way to stay up to date with all your new friends, but throwing a like here and there and a “I miss you!” comment on every third picture won’t satisfy even the best of friends. We crave human contact, physical human interaction, and exploration.
It’s the moment of sharing little details about your home town to strangers that makes you miss the incredible place you get to call home at the end of the day. Or when you find out you know people that they know and you realise the world isn’t as big as you thought it was. Or, when spilling drinks and stories simultaneously makes your stomach hurt from laughter and not all the alcohol you’re consuming – thats when you know that you’ve just added another member to your travel family.
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There’s two things that come to mind when i think about all my international friends that I’ve made whilst travelling:
- Free accommodation (SCORE!)
- You probably won’t see them again for another 2 years or more…
Time differences suck, not having likeminded people around you sucks, and not being able to just knock on your friends hostel door to plan your daily adventure double sucks. It’s sucks worse than actually returning home after the best few weeks of your life, because let’s face it – Being 100% yourself, talking to strangers, mucking around, going on adventures and making crazy memories is a lot better than going to university or working – am i right?!
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Now, you don’t only have an excuse to ALWAYS travel to visit your world wide friends, but you also an excuse to learn about a new country, a new culture, a new language and taste new foods (the real plus here).
This is where your travelling friends come into play again. Just like you, they made some of the best memories of their life whilst abroad, and most likely with YOU. It’s these memories, stories and tales that will forever connect you to them and the corner of the world that they call home.
So what are you waiting for?
Have you made unbreakable friendships through travel or created some incredible connections that have changed your outlook and perspective? Share you story with us here and you could see your work published on six-two…