Travelling in any form usually means packing up and leaving your people behind, and in more ways than one it can feel like you’re leaving part of your heart back home. At first you may feel completely alone (even when you’re surrounded by hundreds of people), but you’ll quickly find that strangers suddenly feel familiar. This is where the magic happens and you form family like bonds with new friends in record time – resulting in families all over the world (win!). So, how do you identify these… famships?
They’ve seen you at your best… and your worst
You find yourself leaning on these friends as if you’ve known them forever. When life happens, we turn to those closest to us to share in the moments, whether they be good, bad, exciting or terrifying. This gives us someone to celebrate with, get advice from, use as a shoulder to cry on, or to simply vent to. When time zones get in the way, a FaceTime call isn’t the same and those closest to you back home feel like a world away you begin to catch yourself talking to the new people in your life. Now, that doesn’t mean you are any less close to those you’ve left at home, you’ve just gained some new additions to your clique. It is through the highs and lows and the sharing of these experiences that strong bonds form quicker than ever and you’ve gained yourself a support system within your new postcode.
They understand
Put simply, they just understand you and your current situation better than anyone else, and that’s because they are going through the same thing. As amazing and sympathetic as everyone is, no one quite understands the reality that is homesickness, basing your schedule on multiple time zones, visa troubles, and wanting to spend your weekends hitting up as many tourist and bucket list locations as possible. Want to know the best part? Not only do they understand but they want to do those activities too which will give you ultimate travel companions.
You learn from each other
They may have been on the road for longer than you or have a higher country count but I’m betting there has been things you’ve both had to work out solo. As they say sharing is caring and you’ve pooled your tips, tricks and hacks to get each other through the travel game. They are the person you turn to when you’re unsure how to navigate public transport, set up a sim card or need a recommendation and chances are between yourselves you know a hell of a lot more than you realise.
You spend your holidays with them
Holiday season can be tough when you’re away from your loved ones and it’s likely you’ll find yourself really missing home at this time of year, but guess what your friends are too. Experiencing friend holidays is a completely different experience but it is one that will ultimately bring you closer. Together you ride out the holidays and soon Friendsgiving and orphans Christmas become a normal part of your vocabulary.
You can just hang out
You’re past the scheduled catch-ups and coffee dates, these days you hang out just because you can. You are so comfortable with each other that you hang out so you can both do nothing together. Your home feels like their home and vice versa, or even better you live together, at the end of the day all you need is each other’s company to be perfectly content.
You’re eerily similar
Your travel styles are likely to have introduced you, but it is your shared passion to travel and experience culture that has kept you together. If you are travelling in the same way, chances are you’ll have similar interests and it is through these that you’ll create lasting memories.