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Making Friends Abroad
March 9, 2026

Making Friends Abroad

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In anticipation of my time abroad, I had a few different worries, but making friends was not one of them. I hoped to arrive and become instant friends with the girls in my apartment, or meet my new best friends in class. What I wasn’t prepared for was how difficult it actually was to make friends.

Going Abroad Alone

I didn’t know anyone in my program before coming to Rome, but I came looking for a fresh start and to put myself out there. I had forgotten how uncomfortable that actually was. It meant saying yes to new adventures, big or small, and going out of my comfort zone to speak with others. This required a new level of balancing my time between resting, homework, and socializing. Without the support of my family and friends, and them being thousands of miles away, it was hard. The adjustment wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but I remembered that everyone around me was in the same boat.

A high-angle view looking out into a classic Roman inner courtyard, where the warm, ochre-orange facade of one apartment building meets the pale cream walls of another at a sharp angle. The buildings are densely packed with rows of windows featuring a mix of light blue and dark brown shutters, many accompanied by external air conditioning units and tangled utility lines. In the lower portion of the frame, a flat-roofed stone structure and the lush green fronds of a palm tree are tucked into the shadows of the courtyard's base. Above the weathered, sun-drenched walls, a clear and vibrant blue sky provides a bright, open canopy that highlights the timeless, lived-in character of the city.
My view of my apartment courtyard from my bedroom.

So did I become best friends with all 5 girls I share an apartment with? No. With such different backgrounds, we had girls with different interests and personalities. But we all co-exist harmoniously.

Traveling on Weekends

Despite not having a close-knit group of friends to travel with on the weekends, I’ve been proactively seeking to make new friends. While that initial phase seems daunting, I’ve been able to plan trips and make new connections. Instead of consistently traveling with just one group, I am exploring Europe with different groups of people. I am also fortunate to have several Hope friends studying in other European countries I can visit!

A high-angle portrait captured on a warm spring day in Bracciano, featuring three young women smiling together on an elevated stone overlook. The women are positioned in the lower third of the frame, standing behind a weathered, lichen-covered stone wall and a simple metal railing that borders a steep drop. Beyond them, the vast, deep blue expanse of Lake Bracciano stretches toward the horizon, its surface calm under the bright afternoon sun. In the far distance, rolling purple-hued mountains rise gently against the skyline, with tiny clusters of white buildings visible along the distant shoreline. The upper half of the vertical composition is dominated by a brilliant, cloudless azure sky, emphasizing the open, airy atmosphere of the Italian countryside.
My two best friends from Hope visiting me.
A grand, vertical view captures three young women huddled together and smiling in the center of the State Hall of the Austrian National Library in Vienna. They are framed by the breathtaking Baroque architecture of the hall, which features towering marble columns with gilded capitals and immense, floor-to-ceiling wooden bookshelves packed with antique volumes. Above them, a massive dome reveals a spectacular, multi-colored fresco filled with allegorical figures and soft clouds, illuminated by natural light from arched windows. The girls stand on a polished checkered marble floor, while other visitors and museum displays are visible in the soft-lit background, all dwarfed by the sheer scale and ornate gold detailing of the historic room.
Friends and I at the Austrian National Library.
A close-up portrait captures two young women smiling together in front of the magnificent Trevi Fountain in Rome on a soft, overcast day. The women stand in the lower half of the frame; on the left, a woman with straight blonde hair wears a black top, and on the right, a woman with wavy light-brown hair wears a tan trench coat. Directly behind them, the fountain's turquoise water pools at the base of a massive, ornate Baroque facade carved from pale stone, featuring towering Corinthian columns and detailed sculptures of figures and horses nestled in grand niches. The top of the monumental structure reaches toward a pale, grey sky, while the blurred figures of other tourists are visible along the edges of the fountain's basin, grounding the intimate moment within one of the city's most bustling and iconic landmarks.
Showing a Hope friend around Rome!

My Final Thoughts

So with all this, what is my final verdict on making friends while studying abroad? The process can be hard, but learning to make new friends is an important part of your learning experience and growth journey. If I could go back, would I choose to study with one of my best friends? Possibly. But that is not the case, and now it is up to me to make the most of my 4 months and write my own story. Being here and navigating new friendships has taught me how to be comfortable in the uncomfortable, and for that, I am grateful.

So if you ever go abroad and realize that your experience may not be what you always pictured it, know that it’s okay. God’s got a plan, and this is an opportunity for you to step out of your comfort zone and push yourself in all the best ways. If I did it, so can you.

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