I wanted to try and start a discussion on the relationship of Friendship.
What are the characteristics of such a relationship? What does it mean to be somewhat friends?  What does it mean to really be friends?

Each country I've lived in had a different understanding of this relationship.  Unlike love, which seems to be understood similarly everywhere, friendship is completely different depending on your country. For instance, what an American would feel obliged to do for a friend is completely different than what an Austrian would, which is different than what a French would, and so on. Each country seems to have a particular interpretation of this relationship. Is being very good friends the same everywhere - not at all.
Of course it varies extensively among individuals too, but mostly countries, cultures, have a sort of common understanding of this relationship.

I know this is probably hopeless, but I thought here could be a good place to try and understand what do people mean when they say someone is a friend of theirs? What is implied by it?
What do they presumably feel towards that person, and the place they take in their life?

When living abroad what surprised you in the clashes of cultures with regards this relationship?

Thanks.