In the beginning, you'll make a lot of aquaintances first,
because real friendship takes time to build. But over time,
when you have gained each other's trust, you can find yourself with
new friends.
If you're alone in a foreign land, things are always tougher in
the first year or so and different people will have different
adjustment rates and adaptability. Plus, all of us face
different circumstances and challenges which will determine how
well and how quickly we settle in.
Now, I have Malaysian/Singaporean friends but I've also made
friends with quite a few Aussies and people of other nationalities
like South Africans, Polish, Romanians, Indians, British,
etc. It's a really interesting mix.
The key is open mind and no expectations. You'll find a
lot of differences with those who come from different places but
try to focus on the similarities and not accentuate the
differences.
The longer you remain overseas, you'll realise that the more
you'll lose friends who are back home anyways. "Out of sight,
out of mind". Migrants will always tell you that they think
fondly of their friends back home but their friends quickly move on
and forget them all too quickly. All migrants I've spoken to
talk of this stage they go through where they are 'neither here nor
there' - going home is no longer the same because things change,
and yet you aren't exactly firmly rooted in your new home
yet. It's the uncomfortable stage where one finds oneself 'in
limbo'.
