Working overseas can be a drag, especially if you’re not used to be away from family and friends you grew up with.
This is why the golden rule of migrant workers is, “Have someone you consider family when working abroad.”
Poet Colleen Berge, writing for the Huffington Post, said no matter where they are in the world, people “need friendship like sunny afternoons full of laughter and chocolate cake.”
Leaving the place you grew up in can be “as disorienting as it is exciting,” she said.
“Many who leave their own countries share a taste for adventure and passion for new beginnings, but at the same time experience a sense of dislocation, disconnection and deep loneliness,” Berge said.
Having someone you consider family while working abroad, she said, “can enrich your life immeasurably.”
Here are reasons why genuine friendship is a treasure.
1) It can provide a sense of connection, home and belonging.
It’s being seen and loved for who we are, which in turn gives us strength by knowing that we are understood, and accepted. “True friendship gives a generous allowance for us to be who we are without fear of rejection,” Berge said.
2) When living in a foreign country, friends become family.
In a different country, friends are often the ones beside us as we struggle through homesickness. They are often the first to rejoice with us when we triumph. They celebrate with us and they stand by us in hard times.
3) Friends make our hearts happy
Perhaps, most of all, we need our friends because they lift our spirits and bring fun and laughter into our lives. It can be hard to get by without the heart to heart sharing and understanding we can find in close friendships, Berge said.
