First Meetings - Findings of a Curious Traveller

         
                Dialogues cited from life
                Photo taken by me in Valencia, Spain
               


They always say "We Meet By Appearance".


An inquisitive scrutinizer by nature I recently felt charmed and at the same time puzzled by this postulate - I stopped and thought "Is this really so true?"

And then as an inspiring mobile moviemaker and storyteller I just took my zoom tool and started zooming in and out at this phenomenon of first meetings - how we meet, what we feel, what matters to us at the moment of the first meeting.

So, as I said, I've always been curious.

                I love travelling.
 
                I often come to new places - cities, small towns, countries - and as I started writing about first meetings I hypothesized that these processes could be similar and what I find out could totally apply to people - so let's go on and find out by the end of the story if my assumptions are true.

Here's what I've learned so far about meeting new places.
Four standing-alone experiences.
 
One. There are places which don't produce any impression on you after visiting. Nothing special, one of many. Vague images. You almost never come back there. In memory, either.
 

      "Where? Ah, in K? I already forgot we've been there. Is it where we bought those shell-souvenirs or was it in L?"


Two. There are cities which instantly strain you. Right from the moment you step into them. I categorize them as «too-places»: they are either «too crowded and busy», or «too dull and boring», «too gloomy», «too big», «too slow», «too industrial", "too small". They may be just right for someone but not for you and you somehow feel it at the very start of your acquaintance. And till the moment you finally leave it, with a sigh of relief.
      
            "And that marshrutka* driver guy, remember? I was like: "Excuse me, yesterday the fare was lower... - Whaat?! You don't like it - you just get outta here!"

         "...awful! And the architecture! Everything's square! City of clone rectangular blocks!"
               
         "Remember that "home-made, best-of-the-best, you-won't-find-it-anywhere-else" wine, half a glass of which led me to this stinky hospital! And they sold it everywhere along the beach! Don't they care about tourists at all!? And then in the pharmacy they were selling pills with expired dates?!"
      
          "Oh, three interchanges and two hours to get there! These distances! And crowds of people! OMG! Are they having a 24/7 rush hour!?

           ... And when we finally got there, all we wanted was just sit back and relax. No "intriguing installation in the form of the labyrinths of his memory", No "unique artifacts of his life and work during the period of the Civil War", just sit and relax!"


Three. Then there are flying or «flash» places: you've been there once and they evoke pleasant positive vibes. Whenever you revisit them in your memory, an instant breezy smile touches your face.

          "..Ah, N, yeah, it was cute! And that abandoned old church we found by accident on our way back to the hotel, remember?! And that absolutely lovely home-made dinner served in big oval-shaped dishes! - Small place, no pathos and so stylish! - Yeah, I couldn't expect that high-level service in a place like that!.."
      


Four. Finally, there are places, which you cannot exactly tell what they are like at first. What you do feel from the start is - they don't fit  into any of the three categories above.

No details or impressions whatsoever so far - you just met. Except some subtle indefinable excitement of the meeting itself. And the natural sincere curiosity:

           "That white building, the asymmetrical one - did you see it when we took the wrong turn? What could that be?"

             " ;Hola! And in Russia we say "Privet". Well, I'm here for 3 weeks, more or less.
             
             "What I like? Ambient, jazz, contemporary music, modern art, active walking and bike tours. In brief, I'm curious and active. "Curious"? - Well, it means, …  how can I put it ..., it means I like to learn new things, got it? ;Si!"



Then as you both - you and the place - make your steps towards getting to know each other better - you find yourself in a process of making mutual discoveries - making wide rough brush strokes which assemble gradually into brief images of you both. You like the process and you curiously proceed. And at this point it's absolutely great if you have enough time not to rush.

             "Si, I love exercising in the mornings. Ma;anas, si, yes:) Et donde puedo, - am I right, "puedo"?:) - El Jard;n del Turia? A park on the artificially dried riverbed? Hmm. !Ok, gracias!

              "Intercambio de idiomas? What's that? - Ah, language exchange club? Sure! Cool! - In Russia we say "Kruto", yes, "kruto" - means "cool"! Et donde esta?"

After laying the first stones, you follow the interaction path that you both design on the spot. You make your next moves in line with your core mindsets and dispositions as well as with the continuous outer signal messages from each other.

The city shows it's most appreciable main sites and cutest side-streets and corners. You first do the cornerstones and you, too, display the facade of your personality and your culture, not ready yet to go deeper than a pleasant refreshing curiousity talk.


And this is when the enchantment breaks through. It suddenly embellishes every next impression and subdues the roughnesses and disagreeable oddities you come across while being on the crest of the admiration wave.

             "Berkley! One of the best music schools? Un Lago de Conciertos? What`s that? - „Lake of Concerts?” Every Friday? Fantastic!"

              "So wonderful! You can reach almost every corner of the city just by citybike!"

               "Yeah, thank you! I’ve been teaching English for quite a lot and signing and playing among friends and family from childhood , so that’s one of my passions!”


And then the moment comes to leave, you discover you had a wonderful time together. And at some point you decide you want to come back. And you notice some hidden or obvious signs that the place — its people, atmosphere, nature - too, are willing to welcome you again. And there will be a second meeting.

Was I talking about places? Or people? No difference. Except for the fact that the city cannot move and come to you and a person can. And the whole process is practically the same.

There'll surely be the second meeting. And there might appear the "Second meeting" piece. So if you're interested - comment this, put a heart and spread this to those who might be interested on going to such short missions with me.

__________________

*Marshrutka - is a Russian name for public transportation minibuses.