We didn't actually meet, I just awkwardly peered over the booth into his laptop watching him alter the colors on his cliche landscape photo he probably took when he #pulledoverforthis on his way into Sarajevo.
The real story is, well, I was going to McDonalds for a quick dinner with my mother when I spotted an odd white Toyota among over micro-eco-whatever friendly cars in the drive way of this city that seems to be trapped between being European and slightly Russian. What I spotted was a sticker on the back of the car that read hellobigworld.de - that's it, hello big world!
Thoughts pushed through my mind, I thought "they're adventurers!" "they're just like me!" "They drove here from Germany" "I know someone who is half German, or two" "What brings them here!" "What a perfect honeymoon idea" "Does that mean my husband needs to know how to drive on all terrains?" and it went on and on and on.
Point is, I already connected on a base of familiarity. They were humans that believed in the same things I believed in because they printed their stickers and stuck them on the same corner I stuck my stickers. Wow, what a world. We're all the same - I sarcastically tell myself. So...what now?
I for some odd reason thought twice about approaching them. I did receive a sense of "approval" when he in the next booth overheard me saying "...people of all ages are full of shit" and I felt, Ha! you spreaken the English (if you haven't watched Madagascar - get on it).
Moral of the story - never never never hesitate to speak to someone, whether they do the same thing you do or are polar opposites. We live in such a BIG BIG world and you're going to pass the opportunity to speak to other beings that have insight, perspectives and goals beyond what you can imagine. Increasing your mental threshold is a mighty wonderful thing!
I urge you, to indulge in conversation - if you're dismissed and not welcomed, it's okay you can tell them I told you and throw the blame on me.
...but just do it.
(I did not speak to them that very night, however I did send them an e-mail and now we're in touch)
// on connections
// Miral Bushnaq
