Unexpected friendship lessons, only traveling can teach you

This morning, very early, around 6 am, we arrived in Miskolc, Hungary.

We were in zombie mode due to the lack of sleep and coffee, but still, we felt our hearts jumping when the first “Miskolc” signs appeared. The reason is simple: this is our second time in Miskolc and the first was amazing! Impossible not to be shaken by all those cute memories. We enjoyed so much wandering around this quiet city and we got some cool and unforgettable friendship lessons here.

Exactly in Miskolc, we met one of the amazing friends we just left in Budapest. Let’s call him “T”. Years ago, T was living here in Miskolc and he accepted to host us for a few days without knowing us. It was also one of the first trips “M” and I shared. At that time, we were traveling by hitch-hiking and it took us a lot of time and several rides to arrive in Miskolc. A very kind driver finally dropped us exactly at T’s address. We were destroyed, tired, sweated, and smelly, all at once hahaha

T welcomed us with that cool smile and with a shot of tequila to relax hahaha This guy is very into nice details and always ready to nicely surprise you. After some minutes we forgot the fatigue and we three got a very nice and fun conversation. Our Hungarian friend is a very warm person. It is very easy to enjoy his company. In the next days, we walked around Miskolc, we shared awesome conversations around the table, we ate delicious food cooked by him, and we got into cooking because of him!

It was very hard to leave Miskolc. But the moment arrived and he drove us to a strategic spot to hitch-hike and continue our trip. For a long time, we did not stop talking about the great time we spent with him in Miskolc. We kept in touch but as time passed, we moved to Mexico City and got badly absorbed by work, and adult life. One day, we received a message from T saying he was going to Mexico and he did! It was awesome! Hahaha. If I tell you how much we enjoyed ourselves and how much I cried when he left Mexico, you won’t believe it haha. It was like a Mexican soap opera scene. And well, long story short, we have been friends for a decade.

Now, you can understand why Miskolc is special to us. It is a Hungarian destination with very nice spots to enjoy if you look for a quiet place to relax. And it is a place where we got a great friend and some important friendship lessons. We will share that with you!

Unexpected friendship lessons, only traveling can teach you

Friendship lesson 1: Befriending is a bet without a refund

Honestly, T could only host us without getting more involved. We all were strangers and with very different backgrounds. To know someone takes time, some little effort, patience to listen to stuff you may or may not agree with, etc. We could have decided not to invest in it so meeting us could be an irrelevant event. We all could keep living without each other. But we decided to invest, to listen to each other without "hidden" interests, prejudices, or expectations and the reward was big.

So, getting friends demands effort. Yes, magical encounters, meaning those friends you get in a lucky, happy, or random instant you shared, happen but still then you have to do, to show interest and that you care. This is in case you want to keep the friendship and not only the memory of that happy instant.

In this sense, friendship is a bet, you can lose or win, and there is no refund! But it is worth trying!

Friendship lesson 2: Friends can disagree

Many topics can ignite the fire in every family or group of friends. For centuries, religion and politics have been thorny issues, but now there are many more. The problem is that currently, we seem to be very weak or intolerant to disagree. As we told you, we could not be more different, a Bulgarian, a Hungarian, and a Mexican. There is a world in between us, but we managed to listen, respect each other’s reasons and circumstances, and openly say our opinion. We certainly don’t follow the same path, but we encounter ourselves many times while walking in life.

Friendship lesson 3: Honesty is a strong foundation for a lasting friendship

By now, we have been friends for almost a decade, just imagine the number of experiences we all have faced. Very good and bad moments. For sure, sometimes we did not take the best decisions and our attitude towards problems has not been the best. In any case, we try to keep honest communication. We criticize yes, not to kill each other but to move on. Currently, we can talk between us very honestly when feeling awesome or very bad. We do not try to disguise our feelings or situation to impress someone. We are what we are, we all know it and we love each other that way. And this beauty started like this when we met here, while traveling around Miskolc!

Friendship lesson 4: True friends are your biggest fans

The more we grow, the harder seems to be possible to keep true friends around who can honestly celebrate our success. There are very ugly human feelings called envy and selfishness, and they kill many friendships. But guys, celebrating our friends’ achievements feels very nice. Besides, it is a selfless act in itself and is a great antidote to selfishness. If a selfless act can help us to be better people, that sounds like a win-win situation, don't you think?

We, humans, are competitive and that is good, but sometimes we confuse the arena to compete. To be a good friend is a personal decision. The friendship we three have decided to have is something closer to a land of motivation and inspiration. If you think these are hackneyed lines, well they can sound like but to put them in real practice is another story.

Friendship lesson 5: Time nor distance can stand in the way of a true friendship

Time and distance are big challenges for friendship. We can’t meet as frequently as we would like because usually, there is a huge ocean in between us hahaha. But we care about each other and we show it because it is important. We want to be present despite the time and distance. No matter whether we are busy, we find the time to send a message, to arrange video calls from time to time, and every time we meet in person is such a big and lovely event! Every meeting feels as fresh, amazing, and honest as that time we spent together in Miskolc. I still cry when the farewell arrives hahaha

Conclusion

Traveling around Miskolc (what to do in Miskolc) we found more than only tourist attractions. We got some unexpected friendship lessons, only traveling can teach you.

We could say much more about our dear T, but we will make it shorter with a big “thanks, T!”. You have brought joy, support, warmth, hours of laughing, life lessons, and even another great friend, “P”, to the gang! Miskolc is in our hearts because of you!

Guys, traveling can be a great opportunity to make friends forever. It is not about pushing things to happen, just being open to them. Who knows, maybe your next time in Miskolc or another destination in a faraway continent can be the surprising beginning of a friendship for life!

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