Making Friends Far Away From Home

One of the things I regretted not packing for this move abroad was my friends. I never took them for granted while I was in New York, but this past month has made me realize just how important it is to have people physically in your life. Facetime and What's App are great, but there's something so necessary about getting together with others--talking, laughing, and experiencing things together. And while they say a husband or wife is your best friend (yeah, yeah..), Christopher and I both agreed we needed to expand our circle this year. And because we know absolutely no one in this city, we knew we would actually have to make an effort.

On Sunday night, as we were settling in about to make dinner, C noticed our next door neighbors (who we met briefly the day we moved in), were outside in the courtyard setting up to barbecue with another couple. We had spent the whole day at Blenheim Palace and were not feeling too social, but decided the opportunity might be now or never. So, we headed outside and said hi... and I'm so happy we did.

We ended up staying out there for hours, talking about our backgrounds, laughing about the differences between our cultures, and experiencing the most amazing barbecue to come from one of the smallest pits I've ever seen (major props to Chef Greg!)

Whether you're moving abroad or to another state (or let's face it, even to another NYC borough), there will always be a challenge of making new friends, but I'm learning here that it's not as scary as it sounds. No matter where you live, it seems that smiles (and barbecues!) are universal.

That time we made new friends <3

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