Keeping up with your friends when you’re apart can just be as fun as when you’re together, it just demands a bit of creativity and effort. Every year on the 30th of July the United Nations celebrate The International Day of Friendship. This day was created to serve as a reminder that friendship is impactful and that building relationships between peoples, countries, cultures and individuals can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities.
One of the best things about studying at CATS Cambridge is that you get to make friends from all over the world. But attending an international school, where the friends you make can live 1000’s of miles away, means that during the holidays you can end up feeling like you’re counting down the days till you see your besties again.
In this age of technology our friends are only ever a text away. However, talking through a screen doesn’t feel the same as that 5 second catch up as you pass in the hall between classes, a gossip over lunch or laughing till you cry because of a silly inside joke no one else gets.
So, we created a list of things you can do with your friends to make memories even when there’s an ocean or a time difference separating you.
Take on a Challenge Together
This could be something like training for a local fun run like Howlett’s yearly 5k or if that doesn’t sound like something you would enjoy, try learning a craft together. There are lots of apps like Habit Share and Strava that make it easy for friends to update each other with their progress while apart and doing this is a great way to spark meaningful conversations, boost your motivation and give you something to look forward to seeing when you’re reunited. Both of these challenges mean even though you are miles apart you will still be able to support each other and work together to achieve a fun goal.
Share a Token of your Friendship
Choose an item, which could be anything from a teddy, a bracelet charm or a pebble from one of your favourite places to hang out. Then, when you and your friends are apart, take it in turns to look after the item. You could alternate who takes the token home during the school holidays or post it to each other. Whoever has the token sends updates to the group or creates a scrap book of all the adventures the token of friendship has been on, ready to share when you’re reunited.
Send a Postcard
It’s retro, thoughtful and getting post is always a nice surprise. Get some cool stamps and send your friends post cards updating them about your life the old-fashioned way. You could even get creative and design your own postcards or use it as a chance to show off your home city!
Game Night!
As we learned during the pandemic, there are lots of ways to virtually connect with your friends. Consider hosting a trivia night over zoom or linking up to play an online game like Among Us or Mario Tour. Competing and having a shared experience makes it easier to forget about the distance between you and gets the conversation flowing.
Binge a Show Together
Chose a popular TV series to watch together or if you’re in different time zones set a deadline and agree on a certain number of episodes to watch by then. After the episode ends or the deadline passes facetime or call your friends to de-brief about different theories, unexpected plot twists and what they think will happen next.
Our experiences are defined by the things we accomplish and the memories we make, and having excellent friends makes a good experience great!
