When I announced to my friends and family that I was going to Buenos Aires for an extended period, one of the many questions I was asked was 'Do you know anybody there?'. The short answer was 'no'. I saw it as a challenge to get out there to meet people and out of my comfort zone. Don't get me wrong; it was not always an easy process, but it was definitely rewarding!
I met some quite interesting people who have enriched this trip in many ways. How did I meet those people? The Internet.
Cautionary tales will tell anyone that the Internet is a dark place where creepy weirdos are lurking around, waiting for their next innocent and naive prey, or pretending to be someone they are not (Catfish, anyone?). And unfortunately there have been too many cases to deny it as true. But I will tell you that, if you use a lot of common sense, trust your gut feelings (if it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't) and have a little faith in the genuine goodness of people (especially travelling peeps), you will be rewarded with amazing encounters.
First, I used Facebook. As much as I deny loving it, it is a great tool to meet people, as there are any groups that caters to various interest. My interest being travelling, I joined this one group that take travelling seriously and when I wrote a message on the wall to announce that I was on my way to Buenos Aires and was looking to meet fellow expats, the responses were almost instant!
I also used the website called TravBuddy, which is sort of like Facebook, but only for travelers. On this website, you set up an account and pay a small one-time fee and then you can connect with expats and locals who wants to show around their part of the world. And that's how I (indirectly) met the friend I stayed with in Bogota!
Then there's the old fashion way to meet people: through other people. Shocking, eh?!
One way that I thought was surprisingly harder to meet people was in hostels. I noticed that most of the people staying in hostels were couples or friends travelling together and thus more inclined to stick to themselves. Also, if they were not with their travel partner, they were on their laptop or smartphone. As a solo traveler, I found that to be harder to engaged with.
Another sure way to not meet people is to stay locked up in your apartment or room. The days that I didn't leave my apartment were out of choice, because sometimes I just didn't feel like introducing myself for the umpteenth time and answer the same old questions (Where are you from? Why are you in Buenos Aires? How come you speak Spanish so well?). It can be draining, especially if you do it several times in a short period of time.
The quasi-instant friendships that develop may or may not last; we all make the promise of keeping in touch when it's time for goodbyes, but that could very well be the last time you ever each other. It's a gamble that comes with the game. Regardless, I remember everyone I met during my travels, because they are part of specific moments in my life. And sometime I will smile to myself, thinking about 'the time when we...'.
Overall, if one reason stopping you from travelling alone is 'I'm going to get lonely', guess what? You won't get sympathy from me! I consider myself the shyest person on earth, but when it comes to travelling, I get bold! So go ahead, book that ticket, you might surprise yourself!
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