Friendship? Yes Please.

This weekend was Memorial Day weekend. This roughly translates to an extended weekend for family and friends to remember lost soldiers and spend some time together under the new spring sun. The weather played its part, and it was a gorgeous three days in Indiana. The only trouble for me was this. I had not made any plans, so as everyone else embarked on a weekend adventure, I realised I was left behind - family-less and alone. It was a very strange feeling, one I had never felt before. I quickly turned to facebook and my cell to contact whoever I thought would be around. They all confirmed my fears to be true. Everyone was out of town and I was truly A L O N E. Netflix would surely not be able to fill three whole days. How was I ever to survive?? My panic led to a wild train of thoughts, which ended right on the topic of friendship and relationships. 

Wise old wiki sums it up perfectly: "Friendship is a form of interpersonal relationship generally considered to be closer than association, although there is a range in the degree of intimacy".
In what seemed my darkest hour, I longed for a friend, anyone, regardless of the "degree of intimacy" we shared. My options were nil. I turned to facebook, and as much as IM'd anyone, my sudden friendship void was not filled. This was the lightbulb a-ha moment. It didn't matter that I had over 400 friends listed. With half of them in a different country and the remaining elsewhere in the U.S, none of them were here, now. Alas, I am from the instant gratification generation. So, I began to truly recognise the importance of tangible friendships in my life. Kathleen Keating, an emotional intelligence expert seems to agree. "We are alone in our separate bodies, yet to live we must connect with each other in order to belong and feel that our needs are met". Yes, social media and technology is connecting our world in a way never experienced before, breaking geographic and even cultural and communications barriers. But what I discovered this weekend is that the actual experiences friends share are invaluable and irreplaceable. The coffee or dinner date, the day at the beach, whatever you share with your friends, hold on to it. They are so important!!! Well, for those wondering, my weekend wasn't all bad, and I did eventually track down a friend who was in town. I really valued the time we spent together, and with this realisation, I feel my little planning mishap turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Yet another lesson learned abroad to add to my list. Hope you all had a great weekend lovelies.
xx

The low down

Welcome to the first post. 

Now for the explanation. Hi! I'm Kendall, the one in the middle in white if you're unfamiliar. I'm originally from Amanzimtoti, South Africa but Brisbane in Australia is and has been home for 14 years. Currently, I am an exchange student at Purdue University in Indiana. I arrived in the U.S on 28 December, 2010 and embarked on what was set to be a six month stint.  March seemed to arrive almost as if the next week and I realised I needed more time, so I extended and am here for almost a full year, departing now on December 19. Needless to say I LOVE IT. Of course I miss everyone and many things from home, but I have experienced so much, grown much more and met so many amazing people. I decided, using inspiration from other bloggers, that I needed to blog. I know I am no longer that 'new' in the midwest, having only started this five months in. However, this blog will cover everything new I run into, learn, love and aspire toward. I hope you'll find these musings of some benefit. 

xx