Yesterday, I went to an all girl meet up here in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Every Wednesday, they meet in a vegan cafe. To socialize, to release stress, or just to see each other.
They are regulars, they know everyone pretty well.
I’ve seen pictures of their previous events, and it looks amazing.
I really want to come, but the introvert part of me is scared.
“What will I say to them?”
“Won’t I get out of place?”
“They know each other, how can I be part of the conversation?”
“What will I do as I enter?”
“Do I really want this?.... Like really?”
These are all the thoughts consuming my mind on my way to the meetup place.
Yeah, I decided to go even if I am battling with my own consciousness.
I said to myself, “Try it once, you can check it out, and if you don’t like it, never come back again.”
So the grab driver drops me off, and I said: “Kob kun ka” (Thank you in Thai language).
From the outside, I can see the girls. There are about 5 tables, all jampacked. Everyone is talking, and you can hear several conversations at once.
I can only see two vacant chairs, vacant I mean no people in them, but have bags.
I went inside and I was greeted by the hostess, “Hello welcome to Free Bird Cafe, so glad to have you here. Can you fill this up with your name and email address? It’s our 1 year anniversary doing these meet ups, so we will have a raffle later.”
She handed me the small paper.
“Oh this doesn’t sound so bad,” I thought.
That one time I consider going and it is their anniversary. Lucky me!
That also means there are more people than the usual Wednesday event.
The reason that there aren’t any seats anymore.
So I went inside and try to look for place to sit. There are two girls on this small table that could be occupied by 4, but has their bags on them. They are kinda busy and working on their laptop, so I ask if I could borrow a chair, and transferred to a larger table.
It started awkwardly, they are talking to each other with a conversation going on. And I am here standing, bringing my own different looking chair.
What I did is to browse the menu, just so I could do something.
And when I made up my mind of what to order, I finally had the courage to interrupt two girls interaction.
“Excuse me, how should I order?” I said with a soft voice.
“You can order at the counter,” she said pointing where it is.
“Thank you. What’s your name?” I ask.
“I am Gery. How about you?”
And that is where it all started.
The conversation kept on going, and we talk about different stuff. Joining conversation of other people, or being interrupted by someone to blend with what you are saying.
It was crazy! It’s like you need 10 ears at the same time because they are talking about different topics and you want to respond to all of them.
They came from different places and background. Someone from Texas, New York, England, Canada, Peru, San Francisco and so much more. There’s a designer, tax accountant, public speaker, English teacher, app developer and a bunch of people doing all sorts of things.
We get to talk about healthy foods, yoga, meditation, Muay Thai, menstruation, jiu-jitsu, cryptocurrencies, business, movies, living in Thailand, what countries have we been, and where we are headed next.
I learned a lot just by listening.
We even plan out on doing things together like hiking, going to the waterfall, and touring around the city with a motorbike.
That’s what I like about traveling. You get to meet someone you wouldn’t ever have a chance to meet within a regular day.
And in Chiang Mai, there’s a lot of them!
You get to talk people who are far away from your background. All of those in our table are from developed countries, and I am the only one from Asia.
I get to share information about the Philippines and my culture, and they are also happy to share theirs.
It was a great day being able to talk to real people who have the same interest as you. Those that create things, and those that make their own opportunities. Travelers, and open-minded flock.
Coming to this event has been a great idea.
Now I have a circle of friends who I can ping if I need a support system here. Lovely ladies who will uplift and cheer me up.
I realized that it’s just the same as any community. You just have to go there and engage in the conversation. Share what you know and be interested in what they say.
Be it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and here on Steemit. You just got to interact and build connections.
And all those doubts and fear, I tell you, IT’S JUST ALL IN THE MIND.
Photos are taken by f © Amy Louise, © Jouni Flemming; iPhone
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