How to make friends in new places

1. How to make friends in new places Faekah Gohar September 2013 Copywrighted: F Gohar 2014

2. THE WORRY.......... Time alone. No friends. Homesick. Limited social activities possible • I will cover: • Social side of moving (as opposed to the practical) • Personal perspective • Adaptive techniques

3. The usual things Geatresource – locals, theyunderstandthejobandthepolitics – gettoknowthem! Theyhaveyourbestinterestatheartbecauseatworsttheyneed a productivecolleague – but you will usually find greatsocialsupports – I found a secondfamily. • Colleagues • Language classes • Hobbies • Contact local university social rep/international student liaison • The internet Importanttoat least learnthelanguagebasics, ithelpswithlearningtheculture, andis a greatplacetomeetnewfriends Goodsourcefororganisedactivitiesandpeopleto do themwith Avoidtoomuchreliance on skypinghome, but itcanbeusefultoo. Manysitesforexpatsandforeigners (Germany: Toytown)

4. Making friends is a bit like dating... ifyouarebored/havenothingto do – peoplemayassumeyoudon‘tactuallywanttospend time drinkingwiththemifyouacttoobusyandasifyouhavemanyotherfriends...!! • Tell everyone • Don’t be ‘ageist’ • Be open to new things and new people • Don’t be scared to make the first move! • Never say no I have a broadervarietyoffriends, olderandyounger, from different backgrounds – whichismorefun! Askpeopleto do things – despitebeinglocaltheymay not havedonemanytouristythingsfor a whilelikevisitingtheBotanicalGardensormuseums Try newthings – formeit was ice-skating, in-lineskating, running