Here are some tips you can follow in order not to let time and distance take over your relationship with the people you shared 6 or 12 months with (the best months of your life). Based on facts and personal experience.
Try to text as often as possible. Long distance relationships need more texting than close-by relationships do, because texting is a mean to keep them alive. Unfortunately, you cannot skip this part because you cannot arrange to get together for coffee around your neighbourhood, to meet and chat with your friend. Of course texting everyday is not possible, due to the responsibilities and different schedules, but do your best.
What comes next? Well, after texting, video calls follow. And why is that? Because video calling is more vivid, it allows you to see and to feel close to the other person. It provides you with this sweet illusion of being together, even though you are not. Plus, I think that through video calls conversations flow more easily and pleasantly.
But of course, people need more than that. They need face-to-face contact, so my third suggestion is to book flights. To where? First, book flights to visit your friends in their hometowns and the other way around. It is nice to see the city in which a beloved person of yours grew up, where they study, their neighbourhood, to observe their everyday life outside of your Erasmus city. And of course, it is a cheap solution, since they can host you and you don’t need to pay for accommodation.
Moving on, another thing you can do is to book flights to visit places together. Places neither of you have visited yet, places some of you have visited, places you like visiting over and over again, or even your Erasmus city. Improvise and embrace the adventure, the unknown and whatever comes with it. As you can see, these kinds of friendships need a lot of traveling, which is a strong advantage in order to fight for them, because you can explore the world as a way of maintaining a friendship.
Relationships are difficult and distance makes them even more so. It takes effort to keep them alive and make them even stronger despite the routine that bursts into our everyday lives. People are like flowers, the more they are being loved and taken care of, the more they grow. So, try to make relationships last and this way you will create more memories. Memories that will eventually be a beautiful recollection of situations, when reminiscing on the past, because after all, memories stay with us forever. With communication and dedication, long distance friendships can work wonderfully.
