Leaving a LeadAbroad program may leave our students and staff in a few tears - saying goodbye to new friends is never easy. Our students build such close bonds and communities within their programs and often struggle with the idea of distance potentially taking away from them. Isabella Brickl, a 2nd year at The University of Alabama on our LEAD Greece program, shared with us how her friend group has been able to keep a tight-knit bond even after returning home.
One of the biggest things we recommend for our students is to stay in touch! With technology, there are so many different means of communicating and Isabella and her friends use them all to their advantage. “We made various Message group chats and Snapchat groups to make sure we had areas to talk to each other after leaving! We FaceTime and text daily with each other!” Taking the time to foster these friendships and prioritize them will help keep them just as special as when you all were abroad together. While staying in contact is important, staying active in each other’s lives is just as important, if not more. It’s so easy to get lost in routine check-ins asking how someone is. Prioritizing meaningful conversations will help those bonds remain strong and lasting. “We text/call daily and are always sharing new updates that are important to us. I always have a constant text conversation going with my friends and we are able to share experiences happening daily. We also use Snapchat daily as a quick and easy communication tool for more lighthearted and fun conversations!”
There’s also so many creative ways to stay connected with friends after returning from being abroad. It’s all about finding new and different ways to chat with one another and make physical distance seem a little smaller! “We love sending Tik Tok/Instagram reels to each other when we are thinking of them or are going through a similar event we did abroad. This is a super fun way of showing my friends abroad that I’m thinking of and miss them! We will always send videos/photos to each other, explaining what we are up too!”
We’d be lying if we said it isn’t hard being away from friends you created incredible bonds and memories with abroad. But like Winnie The Pooh says, “How lucky am I to have something so special, that makes saying goodbye so hard.” No matter how close or far you live from your program friends, those bonds can remain just as special once returning if you foster those relationships! Thank you Isabella for sharing your story with us! We hope it gives other travelers the peace of mind that your community can be just as strong both during and after. If you’d like to have the opportunity to meet your best friends like Isabella did, join our 2025 interest list below! See you soon, future travelers.
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