Sentimental in Berlin Blog: Friends: the always changing friend circle scene in London

Friendship! Jump! Beach! Sunshine! Friends!

I imagine for a Londoner or Brit this is easier as they have school friends, family or friends of friends here, whereas all those people coming from the outside world, we are a bit rootless...as we don't have day to day relationship with our school friends or family, and here in the new country we might not yet have such deep friendships. With time, this is changing :) of course by now I have some friends that I can always count on and know me from inside and out.

Friends in London, I now know is always easy to find and hard to keep.
Why? Because of the fast fluctuation of people coming and going!

The above sentence is not entirely true, because if one takes good care of these ‘lost’ friendships they can still bloom and I know that whenever I’d meet those people again in the future we could still carry on from where we left…which is always a good feeling and they are in my heart and vice versa.

Since I am here in London (2007) I had many encounter with different people, from university from different work places, from places where I lived…yes even in a hostel for 6 months! I still think about it as a great time of my life! Always surrounded with people and party! Never any silence! Something was always happening…the unfortunate thing is that at the time I did not really have money. Anyway my point is that throughout those 6 months I met many people…and had friendships formed from the craziest things/conversations. With these people even though they moved back to their home country I am still in touch via email, facebook or meet them in the country where they reside at the moment or in London!

So I am a bit sad again because I had to face some losses again. My favourite colleague, left work and will leave the country and even the continent! I am hoping that I could visit him maybe in Canada! :) But he was the one always brightening up my day at work in the past 2 years and now who will be this person???

My good old friend from Hungary also left London...well to be honest it was kind of expected with his attitude and how he felt here in London. Nevertheless his move was so unexpected! Going back to Hungary for Christmas and working from there...we were texting that he was going to come back and a week later when I asked what was going on with him...He just said - I resigned and not going back to London ever again. Well I am sad, but I guess it will be better for him. He has a beautiful flat in the capital right next to the Parliament building in Budapest and here he was just renting a room, always felt discriminated and in my opinion he was too reserved and introverted for London with utopistic ideals in his mind about why the government don't give him a flat and transport and everything for free. He was against the benefit system, but he still wanted these for free...In which society would you get these for free, I am asking this!

Most positively...my then best friend from London, in whom I was very disappointed since last June and we have not even talked, called me last week and we were chatting on the phone for 4 hours! :) I was very happy as I am not a person to hold grudge and I still like him with all his mistakes! He really hurt me last year, I think in his opinion I hurt him, then he never answered the phone, text, email or anything...so I gave up on him. BUT since the New Year he is kind of trying to ease things between us :) for which I am truly happy, however I learnt that with him I better keep a bit of a distance in the future :(

Anyway another positive end on the scale, a friend of mine from Italy is strongly thinking to move back to London...or guess where? To Berlin!!!! :) Either would be awesome!

On this note, let's just say take care of your friendships and never let them die, never hold grudge and know that you can forgive, because your friends are the people you can rely on in a world where there is no family. So treat them as the most precious gifts you can have in a foreign country...and of course wherever you are! Smile with them! Talk to them! Listen to them! Sometimes just sit and stare!