Making Friendships and MemorIES Abroad

Let’s face it, preparing to study abroad can feel so exciting, but there will still likely be a healthy dose of nerves. Sure, there’s a clear path to follow in getting your visa, what to pack, and choosing your classes – but when it comes to what your semester abroad will look like and connections you make on the ground, that’s unique to each person!

Getting used to a new host city and making friends may feel daunting, but here’s the good news: countless students who have studied abroad before you have made connections from travel companions to life-long friends, and we have no doubt you can too!

In honor of International Day of Friendship, we’re highlighting students’ experiences about the many ways you can make friends abroad – so you don’t have to just take our word for it 😉

✈️🤳🏾Creating Global Connections

Our Social Media Correspondents are posting all about their newfound friends on TikTok and Instagram and it’s giving us all the fuzzy feels!

Walezka A. reminds us it's not the journey (or even the gorgeous Cape Town views), but the friends we made along the way. 🌟 (The same friends that will make the cutest Spring Break TikTok with you)
Dara A.'s small goal of "today I will speak to someone" resulted in friends she now calls her sisters, and she's happy to share her top tips.✍🏾
I’m not crying, you are! 🥹✨🌍 This audio in Michelle R.'s love letter to her besties had us too emotional!
Morgan L. to her pre-study abroad self, scared of being lonely: "Just trust me you'll be fine." ❤️

Walezka A. Cape Town Spring Break TikTok

Morgan Louderman Friendship TikTok - Paris

🎥Exploring Friendships through Film

Each year students give us a peek behind the curtains to their journeys abroad; in "If I Could Put Into Words" Kiubon takes viewers on a journey, discovering Nantes, France through food and friendships. And in "Happiness Only Real When Shared, Erik reflects on how his time abroad was shaped by the people he shared it with.

Fun fact: our annual Film Festival will be celebrating 10 years this October! That’s a decade of films celebrating all the best parts of study abroad, including the incredible connections forged.

Nantes | "If I Could Put Into Words" | 2020 Film Festival Grand Prize Winner

AUCKLAND | 2018 Film Fest Finalist | "Happiness Only Real When Shared"

📝 Get Insights From Our Ambassadors

“No matter how daunting it might seem, I found my friends and community by putting myself out there, being authentic, and actively making plans. We all have the common interest in cultural and language exchange, so even if you have different personalities you still get to bond over a love of travel and experiencing new things! I was able to connect really well with my entire living group in my residence hall, and despite the language barriers at times, we were able to make really fun memories.” Grace Conant (Hope College | Nagoya Direct Enrollment | Fall 2023)

Connect with Grace

"In Nantes, there were countless places where I could and did find community. The first of which was in my classes at the local university and the local art school. I took courses at both and it was within these environments where I made my French friends. It was here where I met so many people my age that I bonded with. Aside from these, I also found community - a family really - with my host family. Not only did they become friends and family, they introduced me to community events and their own friends, helping me to feel at home in France." Hannah Rees (The Ohio State University | IES Abroad Nantes | Fall 2023)

Connect with Hannah

"I was so worried about finding community and making friends but it came so naturally. Everyone is in the same boat, you are in a completely different environment with people like you who went to the same place for maybe different but similar reasons. Study abroad programs foster a space where you have classes and activities and experiences that bring you together and bring a sense of community that feels super natural. I met some of my best friends abroad who I still keep in touch with and know will be my lifelong friends that it seems silly now to have been worried about making friends in the first place." (Erin Roemer | University of Vermont | IES Abroad Cape Town | Spring 2023)

Connect with Erin

"Look back to a time when you were nervous about making friends and I guarantee it ended up working out. You won't be nervous forever and the sooner you realize that this too shall pass, you'll enjoy yourself even before you inevitably make friends and find your place. " Brady Manzanares | IES Abroad Milan | Fall 2023)

Connect with Brady