The author made friends when he learned to cook paella. Courtesy of John Paul Hernandez My family travels to Spain often and learned about the tradition of cooking paella. Bringing that tradition home to Florida helped us build friendships and connect with neighbors. Sharing a meaningful tradition helped us overcome loneliness and make new friends. After my wife and I married in 2017, life moved fast. We found a place to put down roots and started a family with three kids. Like most people in