play date.

One of the hardest things about moving somewhere new is making friends.  You don’t realize how varied and deep your friendships really are, until you leave them all behind, and have to start from scratch in a brand new place.  I think that’s true whether you move to a different state or to a different country.

I’m pretty sure that every “foreigner,” no matter how introverted or extroverted, would tell you they’ve struggled with loneliness moving overseas.  You can find people you click with and enjoy one another’s company, but building real relationships again from the ground up simply takes time.  Lots and lots of it.

Some weeks I’m so exhausted from the hard week of meeting new people, making small talk, exchanging phone numbers, and more often than not never speaking again.  But those few times you do connect and get together for dinner or a cup of tea or a play date, and find that you really like each other, are joy-full.

Now, a year-and-a-half in, I’m grateful for the friendships God is giving me in our city.  Slowly, slowly our circle is widening again.

I can’t tell you how amazing it feels to run into a “grandfather” you know from church in the supermarket down the street, have him pinch your cheeks and say “Hi sweetie!” or to stop in to greet a friend who works in the mall.  These are small things you don’t think twice about in your own hometown, and some of the things you miss so much in a new place.

Amanda is a friend we met at the park in our neighborhood.  She’s from California, married to an Indian-American, who is here starting a business.  She’s been such an encouragement to me–she’s the person who got us connected with Priya!  Monday she called and said, “I’m at a health food store across town and found gluten-free flour.  I’m getting you four bags!”  Judah and Amie both love her three-year-old, Asha, and we try to get together for a weekly play date.