Keeping in Touch with Friends Abroad

One of the best things about traveling is the opportunity to meet new people along the way. Whether you strike up a conversation on a long bus ride, meet a new family at a home stay, or spend a week with new people on a tour, there is always the chance that you're on the way to a lifelong friendship. Staying in touch used to be an expensive endeavor, but with all of today's new technology it is easy to stay connected with your new foreign friends.

Connect on Social Networks

Facebook - There are a whopping 1.26 billion people and growing on Facebook around the world. Chances are you and your new friend can become Facebook friends and post to each other's walls, share photos and send messages back and forth for free. Make sure you have each other's first and last names (or applicable Facebook name) to find each other.

Twitter - If you're not very talkative pals, you can tweet to each other in 140 characters or less on Twitter. Although Twitter has significantly less users with 215 million active users.

LinkedIn - Maybe you've made a business relationship while abroad and would like to connect on a professional level. Add them to your LinkedIn network to write recommendations and follow their career.

Utilize Free Apps

Most new Apple iPhones, iTouches and iPads come equipped with Facetime and iMessage that can be used to chat with friends for free over Wi-Fi. 

If you do not have access to a computer but do have a smartphone, apps for Facebook, Facebook Messenger and Twitter can be downloaded for free.

Skype is probably the most widely used app for communicating with friends and family abroad. You can call or videochat for free with any other Skype user and make inexpensive phone calls to landlines and mobile phones. It can be downloaded to your phone or accessed from your computer.

There are other apps available for download such as Viber, What's App and the new BBM app for Android and iOS. Experiment to find out which you like best.

If your new friend is artsy, connect on Instagram, Vine and Snapchat to see each other's photos and videos.

The Internet

Email is still a cheap and easy way to keep up with friends who do not have smartphones and steer clear of social media.

However, due to attachment limits, it can be hard to share photos from your trip with your new friend. I have found Dropbox to be the easiest way to share photos, videos and more with other computers, smartphones and tablets. Your first 2GB of storage is free or you can upgrade to plans starting at $9.99 per month. Dropbox can be downloaded to your computer or get the app for free on smartphones.

Pen Pals

Who doesn't love getting mail? Send a real hand-written (or at least typed and printed) letter to your new friend so you both can experience the rush of opening an envelope that isn't a bill or junk mail.

Tip: Avoid friendships with people with visible butt cracks.

Making friends from other states and countries opens up your worldview and best of all, you have somewhere to crash on every continent!

Your Fun Fact today is very short and very sweet: Cows have best friends. A scientist at Northampton University in the UK discovered that cows are very social and form friendships with others in their herd. They are even less stressed and have lower heart rates when in the company of their BFF.

Thanks for reading everyone! See you back here next time.

-Sam