RECONNECT WITH YOUR FRIEND WHO’S ‘SO CULTURED’ WHEN SHE GETS BACK FROM STUDYING ABROAD

Confession time: I have never had my heart broken by a boy.

Lucky? Perhaps.

But, I’d argue that waving goodbye to your best friend as they travel to the other side of the world for an entire semester or year feels a lot like heartbreak. After our first year of university together, my best vina moved to study abroad and, to put it lightly, it sucked.

Fortunately, she came back and she’s still my BFF. So how did we reconnect after a year apart? Well, it wasn’t easy but I do have a few tips:

DON’T LOSE TOUCH IN THE FIRST PLACE

Admittedly my vina and I didn’t talk anywhere near as much as we did when we lived together (an eight hour time difference will have that effect), but we did keep each other up-to-date with the important stuff. Whether that was over FaceTime or via Snapchat, we made an effort to make each other laugh and that made reconnecting a whole lot easier.

LISTEN

With a whole year of gossip to catch up on it is important to set aside time to listen and share your experiences of the past year without each other. Organize a vina date, a coffee break, or a sleepover – anything that will allow you to listen to each other uninterrupted. Just try not to be jealous when she reminisces on the amazing cultural experiences she went on!

GET NOSTALGIC

Relive the memories you shared with your vina before she left to study abroad. Dig out the photos (the more embarrassing the better), visit the same bars, watch the same films, and laugh for hours on end as if nothing has changed.

MAKE NEW MEMORIES TOGETHER

Start a new boxset, attend a new yoga class, try that new brunch spot, take each other out on dates like you would your S.O. and fall back in love with your friendship by forming new traditions and memories!

WELCOME NEW FRIENDS

Accept that your vina made new friends while studying abroad and give her space to stay in touch with them, too. You might even get to meet them yourself and find out that they’re freakin’ awesome (true story✌)!

My vina may have broke my heart when she left to study abroad, but, if you can conquer long distance, you can conquer the world! 🌎 Are you excited for your abroad friends to come back home?

(Feature image via Free People)