What’s the best way to meet new people while traveling?
“Not the Doorway, but the Purpose”
There are plentiful ways to meet new people while travelling, and they are accessible online to everyone. Meet-up apps, Airbnb, homestays—these are among thousands of choices. Everyone chooses what they consider best. As for me, my best is not about the doorway, but about who I want to meet, and for what purpose.
My first travelling experience was in the 1980s, when I visited the United Kingdom. It was my first flight, my first step onto an overseas airport, my first breath of foreign soil, my first stay in a farmhouse. The entire experience was fresh, tremendous, unforgettable.
During the three months I stayed with my friend’s family, I learned about a farmer’s life through their shared stories—firsthand, real, authentic. I ate countless home-cooked meals, homegrown vegetables, homemade cakes and pastries. I drank fresh hand-milked milk and home-produced honey.
Besides the farmers, I met new people in the town, and I was always greeted with smiles and friendly gestures. The two Chinese takeaway shops, run by two different generations, were overjoyed to see me; since migrating, they had hardly met a Chinese person from overseas. Their homesickness sat on their lips. Because of that, I shopped there many times—simply creating more fond memories for two new people crossing paths in a foreign land.
By purpose, I met the farmer and his family and learned about farming lives. By surprise, I met local people who were also friendly, genuine, generous. I even came across the most polite drivers I had ever met. We were new when we started; though parted, we remain connected.
Today, the best way for me to meet new people is through my WordPress blog—sharing lived stories within the blog community and with viewers worldwide. This is a new experience, by scope, by purpose. Then, I explored in my youthful years; now, I share lived stories, hoping younger generations discover in their new ventures.
As I write, I feel a breath of fresh warmth in my heart over these precious, physical experiences four decades ago. As the breezes blow through the windows, I come to my sense of the greatest truth beholding me—it is God’s presence throughout the journey of my life. He is not new to me, but I treat Him anew day by day through the ongoing renewal of my spirit.
And as I gaze at the beautiful blue sky with white clouds floating slowly, I give birth to this poem. May it enlighten your reflections on meeting new people while travelling.
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“Circumstance • Hearts Aligned”
I am a cloud adrift in the sky—
how I long for that meeting, by and by.
If by chance I fall into your embrace,
I will savour every tenderness, every trace.
You greeted me with smiles, with gestures kind,
the scent of foreign soil still in my mind.
Home-cooked meals and honey sweet,
hand-milked milk and stories replete.
By purpose met, by surprise too,
the farmer, the townsfolk, the drivers true.
We were new to start; though parted, we stay
connected in heart, though miles away.
Do not be startled when I drift away,
though my feet may wander, my heart will stay.
Year upon year, through forty springs I roam,
yet the warmth of those old days still finds its way home.
So let the blue sky speak, the white clouds glide—
He is not new, yet I treat Him anew inside.
Through renewal of spirit, day by day,
I meet the world, and find my way.
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