I sent yesterday I think an mail asking some of you for stories about travelling/hitchhiking and Nina was the first one to send me hers. She keeps a facebook page in which she writes something everyday. I posted the link a while ago, but here it is again: Charlotte Acrobat's 365. I enjoy her writing very much. You should check Nina's page, I'm sure you would like it.
I met her in Zagreb over two years ago... WOW! Nina is responsible for my love to Borek. Good times in Zagreb, remember "el gato"?
Without further a due, I leave you with her story, which by the way I didn't expect it to be this one!
I'm Nina. A traveller. A CouchSurfer. A hitchhiker. A Croatian. Specialised in living out of Croatia and refusing to grow up. An aspiring writer.
This is my first attempt to write something 100% autobiographic and on a given topic: travelling or something related to travelling. I'm not sure how it will turn out but let's see.
There are so many tiny stories to share and it's hard to choose only one. I could talk about how it all started, about several turning points, about people's kindness, about keeping your life in a 60liter backpack, about inability to settle down… Crap, I have no idea.
*5 minutes later*
Wait, I do have an idea. I'll write about how I met Ron Navas. And no, you won't have to watch 8 seasons of CBS sitcom to discover how. (Referring to How I Met Your Mother.)
January, 2011. (God it's been that long?!) I accept a CouchRequest of two French guys and a Guatemalan guy Ron. A few days later, they enter my apartment bringing the spirit of the road inside. Sharing a bit of food, more than a bit of drinks and loads of tips and tricks on travelling.
- Hey, have you read this book on low-budget travelling? – Ron is showing a book.
- No, I haven't. Hey, have you heard of this Finnish guy who refuses to be a part of monetary system and doesn't use any money? – I'm reminded of a guy I've met while hitchhiking the Balkans.
- You mean Tomi? – Ron says.
- Yeah, Astikainen or something like that. You know him in person? – I'm surprised.
- Sure, yeah, I've met him in Spain and then we bumped into each other later on the streets of Lyon. – he explains.
Wow, the world's so small, I think to myself.
- You know, this reminds me of when we were in Greece, Tomi and I ended up spending one night at this girl's place, Martyna, a Polish girl on Erasmus in Greece. And then, a few weeks later the very same girl Martyna ended up CouchSurfing in Istanbul at my friends place. – I continue.
- Wait, you say Polish girl on Erasmus in Greece, that rings a bell for sure. Martyna, surname Grzymala?
- Yup, that's her. – I say in disbelief.
- And the Turkish guy, is his name by any chance Orcun?
- Yup, Orcun Akkiray.
The world's smaller than I could believe.
After a few days of spontaneous parties at my place, Ron and the French guys leave to continue their journey. I've been taught how to say: "¿Qué hora es? ¡Es la hora decir salud!" which has proven to be very useful since January when I began living in Valencia, Spain."
July-August 2011. I'm the States on my temporary working visa. In my free time, I'm enjoying Spanish-Italian language exchange with a CouchSurfer named Al.
September 2011. I add Al on the list of my CouchSurfing friends.
- Hey Al, I've seen that we have Ron Navas as a mutual friend. How the hell do you know him? – I'm sincerely shocked.
- Yeah, he was hitchhiking some time ago here in the US and I picked him up once. – he explained.
So peeps, this is a story of how small the world is and how I met Ron Navas.
Travelling, CouchSurfing, hitchhiking – all of that added together breaks the image of the world as a bad place, making you understand why's it said that there are no strangers, only friends you haven't met yet. (In most of the cases it's been proven to be true. Still, there are rare cases that support the image of the world as a bad place. Here's what Amanda Fucking Palmer has to say about that: "If anybody tries to steal your ukulele, let them take it!")
