Maintaining long distance friendships

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and that is truest in the context of friendships. If any of your friends have moved far enough away that you can't meet up with them very often, you could look at the following suggestions to make up for lost distance and act like they never left.

WATCH SOMETHING TOGETHER

Can't take your favourite friend to the movies? Netflix and chill no longer the same? Your best solution to both these problems is rabb.it. This website allows you and up to twenty-five of your friends to watch things together. You have a choice of sites like Netflix, Crunchyroll, YouTube to find videos to watch. You could even aimlessly surf the web, and it'll still feel intimate because of how you're all looking at one screen. With your microphones and video turned on, it's almost like your friends are right next to you, judging as you suggest that the group watch anime. A word of warning: since only one person can have control of the screen using the "Playback control" button, you might find yourself in a tug-of-war trying to wrest control of the app back from your friends.

TAKE THEM FOR A WALK

Yes, I know that your friends aren't dogs. However, even humans can enjoy a nice relaxing walk every now and then, especially if it's with a friend. Since they can't physically be with you during the walk, you could video call them and use your back camera to show them the wonderful place you're living in. Throw in a "Who's a good boy?" every now and then to really get them excited. Just try your best to ignore the strange looks you'll get from passers-by. 

GAMER TIME

Even if you're not someone who enjoys gaming normally, playing with friends is bound to change that. Nothing beats teaming up with/against your friends and fighting for victory. Sometimes the game itself is overshadowed by all the trash talk that will flow back and forth. Because of this, not only is playing together a test of your gaming skills, but also a test of your creativity to see who can come up with the best insults. Some of the best multiplayer games for this purpose would be Rocket League, Left 4 Dead 2, Towerfall and Portal 2. Most of these are available on both PC and consoles, but if you have neither, ports of popular games like PUBG and Fortnite run quite smoothly on mobiles as well. If you feel like your vocabulary is up for the challenge, the aforementioned games won't disappoint. 

STUDY WITH THEM

Studying is boring and difficult on your own, so you should definitely include friends to make it more bearable. It doesn't matter that you're probably studying different subjects and are also in different time zones. What really matters is the experience, know what I mean? I think you'll find that study sessions with long distance friends lead to some of the most engaging conversations. Warning: this writer is not responsible for any bad grades or failed courses as a result of this suggestion.

These activities are sure to keep you and your friends entertained, regardless of where they are. They could be as close as a different city, country or continent, or as far away as Uttara.

Wasique Hasan came back to Bangladesh to eat mangoes and get heat-stroke, and he hasn't found any mangoes yet. Send him information that will lead to the acquisition of mangoes at fb.com/hasique.wasan