There's No Place Like Oz

Meeting new people is one of the primary motivations of travel. It can be rewarding, educational, entertaining, and life-changing — and yes, sometimes frustrating, overwhelming, or irritating!

It didn’t hit me until just a day or two ago that I’ve rarely traveled by myself. If I haven’t traveled with someone to my destination, I was usually headed to meet someone, whether it was friends I’d be visiting and staying with or contacts I’d developed online. Two years ago, flying to Istanbul solo and arriving in the middle of the night was intimidating, but I quickly met roommates Allison & Jonathan and connected with Emin and Arda, two 20-something Turks I’d befriended online.

Jonathan and Allison during our Bosphorus cruise trip

As of today I have been gone for three weeks, which is also the length of three of my previous trips and the longest I’ve been out of the country at once. Therefore, tomorrow will mark the longest I have ever been abroad. And this time around, I am truly a solo traveler.

While I have had more moments of loneliness than I anticipated over the last several weeks, I have also been fortunate to meet some wonderful (and also some very interesting…) people.

My biggest surprise so far has been how difficult it has been to meet people at the hostel (both in Sydney and in Melbourne). It has never been an issue in the past, but this time around everyone seems to be in tight-knit groups already or they are completely happy to stick to themselves on a computer *all* day. Thankfully I did meet a couple of girls in Sydney I spent time with before one of us had to move on to the next destination. I can’t forget my Telstra boys in Sydney, who were always a welcoming face each time I saw them. And Andrew (an American expat) and wife Taryn invited me to dinner, a nice 40-minute train ride outside of the Sydney CBD.

Of course after writing this post, I’ve now met two people in the hostel in Melbourne! One is my Korean roommate who arrived yesterday and quickly apologized for having a limited English vocabulary. That didn’t stop us last night from trying to communicate 🙂 She kept apologizing for not having the words to say, but we did just fine! The second is a girl I met just downstairs at breakfast, and it was the simple encounter I’ve been expecting…you join someone at the table and just strike up a conversation! But until this point, everyone’s been closed off. Nice to experience some “hostel normalcy” before I move on tomorrow.

Speaking of brief encounters, I had one with an elderly lady in the “health foods aisle” of the local grocery store as we both examined the gluten free items. “Do you have Celiac disease?” she turned to ask me.

“Oh, no. I am sensitive to gluten though and try to eat gluten free when I can.”

“Oh, well I am a TRUE Celiac,” she began, and then continued on for quite a while, offering suggestions about what I should purchase and then telling me a bit of her life story.

It was only the next day as I was speaking with James that I found the encounter TRULY comical. “That’s fantastic,” he said. “She was really saying, ‘My disease is better than yours.'” And she was!

So who is James you ask? Only my first Tweetup and new friend! I’m not sure how or when, but James and I started following each other on Twitter and chatting about our trips. He’s lived in Australia since he was 13 and in the not-too-distant past, he spent 3 months driving around the country. On my second full day in Melbourne, he drove to the city, and we spent the afternoon in St. Kilda before enjoying dinner at a Greek Restaurant in the CBD. A week later, I took a train to his neck of the woods, and he graciously drove around the Dandenong Ranges, showing me all of his favorite spots (all about the Dandenong Ranges in a future post). In addition to blogging and Twitter, we both like photography and LOVE food. Just last night we got together again in the city and went to the Lindt Cafe, Shanghai Dumpling, and Lord of the Fries O:-) (Oh yeah, totally separate food post on the way)

James during our day trip to the Dandenong Ranges

My second Tweetup was with Jade, Bob, and Rob of Vagabond 3. We were only going to overlap for one day of their time in Australia, and thankfully we were able to spend a couple hours together. Next time I use a Magic Marker or a Wizard Kleenex, I’ll think of you three 😉

My third Tweetup was with Darren and Cherril, who have become my Aussie mum and dad! After direct messages on Twitter and phone conversations, I was invited to take a train to Ballarat to stay with them for a couple of days. Although we had never met, we had chatted quite a bit before my arrival. My stay with them was absolutely lovely, and by the time I went to bed Wednesday night, I felt like it was a home away from home (more on my time in Ballarat in a future post). I couldn’t have asked for more from my super sweet and generous hosts adoptive parents. Who knew I’d meet so many fantastic people via Twitter?!

Last but certainly not least amongst my Melbourne meet-ups has been Dan, the sweet and fun brother of the equally lovely Allison, who I met in Istanbul. Dan, Paul, and I went to the YUMMY Shanghai Dumpling for dinner, and the next day I met Dan, Tim, and Jess for an afternoon at the Melbourne Museum (yeah, yeah future post!).

I don’t know a soul in Adelaide yet, but here’s hoping I continue to meet some lovely,wonderful, kind — and of course, a few “interesting” — folks along the way.

Featured image at top: With Gunther & Elle in Germany — two friends I’d made online and known for over a year before meeting them for the first time