Need Friends, Take a Course!

I have always considered myself in some ways an intrepid person; especially when it comes to traveling to different countries and deciding to live there. Actually, maybe it isn’t intrepidness, but perhaps it’s more like a spirit of adventure that directs me to foreign lands-or is it outright stupidity. Who knows? Regardless, whatever it is, the fact is that I am an American living abroad, and have done so for the last six years or so. Anyway, there are many great possibilities offered to individuals in the same situation. The possibility to work, study, travel, drink beer, and learn in a foreign environment is something that is often rewarding for many valid reasons. Despite this,there is one small problem might occur in most situations when one decides to live in a foreign country for a while. For me and for many of us when we live abroad, it is sometimes easy to feel like a loner. No one likes to drink alone. Moreover, If one is not vigilant and fails to take steps to prevent loneliness, one can easily feel like a permanent wallflower and be spectator watching everyone else’s life, while he or she might feel bummed out from not having a social life. I know this because this happened to me in Poland. However, I decided to do something about it.

One good way to escape this situation is to sign up for a course where you are forced to interact with other people. For me, I signed up for a Polish language course at the University of Warsaw for two months. In that time, I interacted with an enthusiastic group of creatures from all over the globe. In the end I became quite good friends with many of the participants-and even learned a little Polish to boot. Because of this course I now have a social life in Warsaw, which isn’t always easy for a foreigner.

Anyway, our group has become like a gang of foreigners that gets together once a week or so and usually share food and drink from one of our respective countries. We have even partaken in a few sunny barbecues with our own local flavors of cuisine and style, and have even made a few city sightseeing excursions on Sundays. I now have a group of friends from China, Iran, Greece, Spain, and The Philippines. For me, learning Polish is important, but getting it down will take some time. Since my girlfriend is busy with her PHD, I need people to socialize with in English. So if you need friends, do yourself a favor and sign up for a course for something and introduce yourself to your new friends.