Friends, amigos, amici.

I have been thinking a lot about friendship lately -nothing like leaving everybody you know behind to understand what friendship really means- and I find that my friends are everywhere.
For starters I have recently discovered facebook, and I am traveling down history lane with it! I have "found" friends that I have not seen or heard from in ages! (Well, years is more like it) and even though we live far away from each other, it is like we are together again. Most of these friends are friends from my hometown: Popayan (never heard of it? NOW you have!)They are childhood friends: they are like brothers and sisters, they know me (who I am, who my parents are, where I come from, what my dreams were) and they will always see the child inside me. These friends don't need to find something in common with me, because our "belly button" is the same. My good friend Angela used to say that "Popayan has no end" because anywhere you go, if you find someone from Popayan, you immediately find yourself at home. If you are from a small town you know what I am talking about, right?
I also keep a lifeline with my friends in California through e-mail. I find myself writing and receiving long, personal messages, which in some cases are even more frequent and sincere than those of the "live" relationship we had. Maybe it is the fact that I am so far away, that I am considered safe. It is like I am one step removed from their everyday life, and with that I have perspective. I am very happy with this arrangement as it brings me closer to my friends than ever before. What did people do before they had the internet???
I have new friends too. People that I have met recently but whose interest and particular attitudes towards life are similar to my own. I am an expat, I am here without being from here, I do not belong but I do. My friends are expats too. In a particular way we are the same because we are not Italian. It is good to find that you are part of something, even if it means that you are part of the difference.
Another source of friendship is my blog... Yes the one and only "suitcase contents". If you are reading this, then I am talking about you. The people that I have met because of my little trips into the blogging world. I appreciate all the people that give me feedback, and all the writers out there. I am not a writer, but I want to follow in your footsteps.
Last but not least, I can't forget the most faithful of all my friends: my dog Mocha. She is my permanent companion, my shadow, my friend. I am so glad that she made the trip with us; she is such great company.
I miss you all. Keep those e-mails coming my way. I am posting Mocha's picture in lieu of everybody else's. Love,