From A to Z

Smush faced friendships were made too...

Whether it is saying goodbye to old friends like we did in Atlanta or new friends like we have here in Zurich, I can't get used to it. It is the dark side of Expat life and since I am the type of person who emotionally invests in my relationships, it hurts. It won't scare me away from developing friendships here because as much as it hurts to say goodbye to our new friends, it would hurt more to live in a strange country without any. It is calculated emotional risk if you will.

I have been thinking about the short term friendships and subsequent goodbyes that we will surely experience time and time again here. Are they less profound than longer term friendships we had back home? Will they last? How close can you really get to people when you live in a temporary world? Unfortunately the answers are up to each individual but for me, most of the people I have met live in the same temporary world and as a result, we will always have a bond. Us Expats are sort of like war veterans...our lives are full of beauty and horror where we either fail or prevail...but at the end of it all, we did it together and nothing will ever change that fact.

I am confident that the friends we said and will say goodbye to will be the kind we see in 50 years, where it will seem like no time has passed since our last meeting. Sure a lot will have changed, hair might be grayer, bellies might be plumper and we will have a lot more lines on our faces (hopefully mostly laugh lines), but we will always remember our time spent together in Zurich and we will always be Expats.