I\u2019ve been thinking about community a lot lately \u2013 especially as Module C ended, and I\u2019ve rotated from the London campus to San Francisco. How do you rebuild your life when you\u2019ve left an old one behind in a different country?<\/p>\n
I moved to London to pursue my Master of International Marketing. My fellow students were a motley crew of acquaintances, until I\u00a0found myself feeling more and more settled. I asked myself, \u201cwhat\u2019s changed?\u201d So I put together a handful of tips for moving abroad (this is more of a \u201csoft skills\u201d list than a tactical one)\u00a0\u2013 especially as\u00a0I\u2019ve had a couple of prospective students, incoming students, and friends ask for tips on moving to a different continent. Call them \u201cbest practices,\u201d or just some good advice.<\/p>\n
1. Know that you\u2019re never \u201cready\u201d.<\/strong>\u00a0You\u2019ll repack your bag at least four times and you\u2019ll forget at least five things. \u201cMan, if only I had that *insert item of clothing\/or piece of loved junk here*.\u201d It\u2019s OK. It\u2019s just stuff, you can buy\/sell\/replace stuff. Or friends can bring you beloved items when they visit you.<\/p>\n 2. Take people up on their offers of friendship.<\/strong>\u00a0If your cousin, friend, colleague, casual acquaintance, barista or dry cleaner offer to connect you with a friend or relative of theirs \u2013 TAKE IT! You never know. So-and-so\u2019s BFF from when they were 12 could turn out to be your favorite brunch buddy in a new place. It\u2019s like when you see that a friend knows people you know from a different sphere of life on Facebook. You can usually count on friends of friends to be vetted, which means they are less likely to be cray cray<\/em>.<\/p>\n 3. We all hate \u201ccold calling\u201d people, but get over it. <\/strong>Email those weak tie potential friends. Go to a Meetup, and then judge whether or not you want to join from a corner in the bar. If the Meetup is lame, make friends with the bartender (strategic friendship).<\/p>\n 4. Chat with Hult strangers. <\/strong>Some of my favorite people at Hult are in different programs (MBA, MFIN, MIB). Strike up a conversation, join a club or attend school events. It\u2019s a great way to meet like-minded people who may have chosen a different course of study.<\/p>\n 5. Be prepared to put some work in.<\/strong>\u00a0Friendships and business relationships take effort. You need to put some time and love into fostering your new connections. Check in to see how people are doing by email, text or phone. Whether or not you can get together, it shows you\u2019re thinking of them, and this can go a long way.<\/p>\n That\u2019s my poetic waxing on connecting with new people in a new, international environment. Most importantly, figure out what kind of support you need and then go after it; people can\u2019t read minds (really, most can\u2019t), and no one will magically appear on your doorstep to give you a hug when you need one.<\/p>\n It\u2019s up to you and only you to shape the kind of life you want in your new environment. You may be far from home and your hometown friends, but you\u2019ve also got <\/a>an amazing opportunity at your fingertips. Be kind to yourself, be brave, and take some risks.<\/p>\n And take a listen to Jack White\u2019s rendition of \u201cI can tell that we are going to be friends\u201d.<\/p>\n