Friends forever

My friend is moving in a month—and not just to a different neighborhood, but to a whole different country! I'm so sad, I can hardly think about anything else. I know you can't make my friend's family stay, but I'm hoping you'll at least have some helpful ideas. —Already Lonely in London
Dear Already Lonely,
The first thing I want to say is—I'm so sorry your friend is moving!
The second thing I want to say is-are you from London, as in London, England? That is so exciting! Have you ever seen the Queen? Is it true that people there drive on the left side of the road? How big is Big Ben, really?
OK,I guess I should stop asking questions and get back to your letter-which reminds me of how beyond and I was when my friend Elizabeth had to move.
I met Elizabeth in my very first karate class. I was the only new kid in the class. Everyone else knew a lot of the moves already and had yellow or orange belts.
I had a total beginner's white belt and felt unbearably nervous the whole way through the class. I tried my hardest to follow along, but everything was way harder than I thought it would be.

Afterward, as I was putting on my shoes, I was thinking, There is no way I am ever coming back to karate!
And that's when I met Elizabeth.
"You did great!" I laughed. "I was so clueless!"
"That's how I felt at first, too," she said. "If you want, I can help you practice."
"Really?" I said.
"Sure. By the way, I'm Elizabeth." She scribbled on the back of a karate schedule. "Here's my number."
"Wow, that's so nice of you!" I said.
She smiled. "No problem."
Anyway, to make a long story short, I called her a few days later, and we've been amazing friends ever since.
Now for the sad part. Not very long ago, Elizabeth had to move. Her family still lives in California, but if you know anything about my state, then you know it's gigantic. And I'm not positive about the exact geographic details, but the distance Elizabeth moved was about the same as if she had moved from London to Paris!
"You can't move!" I screamed when she told me the terrible news.