A spontaneous trip
One of the perks of being both perpetually unemployed and a credit card nerd is the ability to "afford" to go somewhere on a whim with the help of award travel and the generosity of your best friend who is willing to host you for free.
And it turned out to be one of my best decisions... maybe ever?
One of my closest friends, initially "just" a language partner, told me last month that he would be headed to the Bay Area for a few weeks on a business trip. His first time in the US. We had met in person only once before, about 1.5 years ago when I stopped for a few hours in the Netherlands, where he has been living for several years now.
Starved of in-person social interaction lately, I booked the flights two weeks out from my departure, even though I would spend all of approximately three days there.
Neither of us expected this to pan out. He was interested in visiting the US someday, but it seemed so unrealistic to him in the near future that it never crossed his mind. I didn't expect to have zero responsibilities currently and be able to come on a whim.
It was interesting for me to show him what things are like here. Though he is not the only friend of mine who lives abroad, it has always been me visiting their part of the globe and not vice-versa. Never had I actually shown what life is like here to a foreigner before. My Russian language partners in particular are like windows into a world that I feel I should fully know but never quite will. Suddenly, it was my turn to show something from my own (sorta, never lived in the Bay Area but know it well enough).
It was even more interesting for my best friend who was hosting me to join us. There is something about that build-up to introducing two of your closest friends to each other. On one of the days, the three of us commenced a wholesome evening with a bowl of delicious pho, followed by a visit to Baker Beach.
While walking there, we discussed what constitutes a "good" or "happy" life. Unsurprisingly, as three overly analytical people, we could not come to a consensus.
We were eventually interrupted by one of the most marvelous views I have seen in a long time. This was definitely not my first time at this beach, and anyone who has been to San Francisco can understand why that is.
As cliché as it sounds, this time was so different thanks to the people who were there with me. Magical, I would say.
What were the chances that I would find myself on this beach, standing next to two friends from opposite sides of the globe yet both so close to me I consider them brothers, my loneliness suddenly overpowered by a sense of wholeness that I could have never imagined feeling as I endure one of the grimmest periods of my life?
Even if only for a little while, I began asking how I managed to find such great human beings whose thoughts, support, and I treasure so deeply instead of wondering why my life circumstances suck so much right now.
I want to circle back to my post on online friends. Clearly, I value my online friends. But this all came full circle for me last weekend because this experience would have never been possible without the help of the Internet. And these guys are, again, like brothers to me—even when it is entirely unnecessary and maybe even inconvenient for them.
I don't know the recipe for a "good" or "happy" life, but I know that experiences like these are a major ingredient. My spirits are lifted.