Socializing as an adult

I'm going on the 3rd month now away from home and hitting that usual bump that I encounter when I'm not in North America. I find this happens in 3 month increments. I'll be doing fine and then suddenly I'm hit with an overwhelming wave of homesickness. This happened in Korea, and Japan so it's no surprise it's happening here too. I thought it might've been muted a bit since I can at least communicate with people but there's a difference from being foreign in an English speaking country as opposed to a non-English speaking one.

When you're in a non-English speaking country you automatically latch on to any English speaker you come across, whether your personalities match or not. Sometimes all you have in common is the fact that you're both foreign. It doesn't matter, in a sea of aliens it's enough of a base to start a friendship. Usually you hang out with your English-teaching coworkers. Social groups spring up surprisingly fast and become strong in an indecently short amount of time. At least this was how it was for me and a good many of the foreigners I knew overseas. You became instant best friends with people you'd known a week, did everything and went everywhere together. Of course groups also fall apart quickly as when you return to your own country you realize you actually have nothing to say to each other. Generally, as far as socializing goes being in a non-English speaking country is a blast.

Australia is different for two reasons. One: I'm not here for only a year and Two: I speak the same language that everyone else here does. This time I'm not an anomaly, like in Korea or Japan. My coworkers are all natives to Australia so there isn't anyone to latch onto (you can't latch to natives, it doesn't work that way it would just seem creepy). Instantaneous friends don't exist in this situation, you have to actually work at it like you would in your home country. Anyone knows that making friends as an adult is usually a lot harder than when you're younger and in school. You need to socialize through work functions first and then later you can maybe go for coffee. In a way it's a lot like dating, you're courting potential friends and it's uphill work! It's harder when the people you meet already have established groups and their own lives to live.

The main purpose of this post was to say that I miss my friends and family back home. The friendships I had there spanned years and those people knew me inside out. Pretty much to the point they could predict what I would do in a given situation. I miss getting together with friends where as soon as I see them I can immediately bitch about a bad day and they'll know exactly what to say to make me feel better.

Anway, I hope all of you back home are doing well. I'll keep you updated on my social attempts! Cheers.