On Friendships Born On The Web

Have you got many cyber friends? The fact that you are in Steemit and the longer you have been here - your answer to that question is probably a yes.

Have you met them? What it's like during the first meeting?

Did you have a click right away or did you realize the person is way different in real life than on the web? Did you spend hours of long talks or just bid each other goodbye after a few minutes? Did series of questions pour out and produce linkages of questions born after one another or was it more of - dead cold silence? What was the experience like?

Where I came from it would be unusual for a woman to make friends with men - more so - on the web. That's my case obviously .. but I don't have any problem with that. I've been doing it since Skype was invented and made dozens of male friends I still am in contact with on the web. I've only managed to meet one in person - here many years ago. I asked that person to do a background check on my husband when I was still dating him(my hubby) on the web. Oh, hubby knows about that part and he's also friends with the person till now.

I went through a "dejavu" last Sunday. Yes, I did it again - well, you know what they say - old habits don't die. Even though it's not the first time, I always get curious about what kind of a person I am going to meet. Would they be the same as how they are on the web?

I only make friends with who I think are - really kind people on the web. In my experience, the longer you get to know them - the more relaxed they become with you (and so do I) so when things don't go wrong and they start misbehaving (oh yes, some do!) - you can easily - just stop.

The most exciting part is meeting in person really! My husband is very supportive to me on that matter. You might find that unusual but I grew up "with the boys" and hang out more often "with the boys" which he actually likes a lot because most of his friends are guys. He could take me with him on visit to his friends because he knows I'd be comfortable with them guys. My husband and I would share friends - we find it better to have the same friends so he was also curious and excited ( I was more that I kept PMing my friend asking when we could meet already) to meet my cyber friend on Sunday.

The only thing we brought with us are "the impressions" we have about the person - no expectations nor illusions. We were late with the appointment so we were a bit embarrassed. We got slowed down with a row of bikers on the road but despite that we were welcomed warmly.

We went elsewhere to take a stroll and I noticed my husband was already "feeling closer" to my friend than I am. I wanted to say; "Honey, that's my friend, too - actually .. my friend first." - not because I'm possessive but because I couldn't catch up with the conversations. I was feeling like walking with two geeks happily chatting about EOS and the crypto world and so many other things I couldn't even comment about. No, I wasn't feeling out of place I was letting them do that, too because it wasn't like that in the beginning plus I was happy my husband liked him a lot as well.

We took a long walk, went under a waterfall in the park and stopped in front of "Bambi's house" where they did not even look at Bambi nor notice that I was feeding a young reindeer with acorns (that day I learned that reindeer actually eat raw acorn) I picked up on the path during our stroll in Sonsbeek Park. They were so into their conversation and went on talking about ICOs, altcoins and whatever more I couldn't follow because I honestly don't get a lot of the terms they were using and the subject they were talking about not to mention that they were speaking in tongues~~ ...I mean Dutch.

The whole day passed by and I got to talk to my friend when we all sat down for a drink, while we were taking selfie of our shadows, in the city strolling along the crowd, in the resto with the fake beach and when we sat down in a real coffee shop and talk about other stuff. Yes, my husband monopolized my friend - that day but ... it's alright. We'd meet again some day and I could always talk to him more often than he could ha!ha!

If there's one more thing I am so happy about this meet up - it's the fact that my cyber friend is the very same person in the web and up close and personal - full of compassion, honest, kind, humble, no pretense - just himself and ever generous. Oh .. I was drawn to this person for all of the above and his being "wise" and ever generous sharing his knowledge to me. I've often sought advice from him, too. Yes, I like hanging out with older and wiser people because I am aware that I could learn from them a lot. My husband has the same impression so when it was time for him to leave, though we would want to hold him longer - he has a family to go home to.

Both with a heaving heart, we bid him goodbye and watch him vanish into the glass wall of the train station. I suck at goodbyes and my husband knows so he asked me in the car when my friend was probably already sitting in the train - "Do you feel like crying?" Hahaha... but only because he saw what happened when I bid Esther goodbye back at the airport in December. I told him I don't but rather worried because my friend must be tired and hungry again. It was already 6 pm - dinner time. It's going to be a 3.5 hour train ride - pretty long. That's why we appreciate him paying us a visit despite the very fact that he often easily get tired. Thankfully his body and the weather cooperated that day.

Back at home, my husband asked me to check if he's gotten home safely - I did. I was dead tired from the stroll so I napped and got the reply back that he's nearing his house at almost 10 pm. It must have been a long day for my friend, we felt sorry we held him pretty late but it's not everyday that you meet people of the same mindset and with a heart of gold so can you blame us we had so much fun, forgot the time and easily got attached ? Unfortunately, most of our friends who are like that live far away. Oh well... we'll head to his place next time.

I can't really say it's the beginning of a good friendship because even though our friendship was born in the web it's been going on for almost a year now. Let's just say that the meet up just made it stronger and brought confirmations of who we are really. That we really had so much fun and my husband and I felt like we've known him for a long time already (which is somehow true because he wasn't a catfish). It may be too early to say that but we have a good gut feeling about this one even before we met him and it just got confirmed when we all got together.

I have always refused to believe when some of my conservative friends tell me that it's not possible for real friendship to be born in the web. I've confirmed that many many times now so if like me you have successfully made real cyber friends - I raise my glass to you - and for the many ones who has managed to establish great friendship born on the web, too.
I must say though that here, in Steemit I have plenty of those - all I would treasure till the day I may no longer be able to post. Most of them are very very creative, supportive, authentically kind and ever helpful - and all those "sugar and spices of adjectives" you could ever use to describe a person or specially a friend - a cyber friend to be more specific. For all those men and women I've made friends here - I am ever grateful we've crossed our paths. Hopefully, someday, it would be up close and personal, too. Fingers crossed!

How about you?
Have you yourself any cyber friends?
How many of them have you meet in person? Are they the same person on the web or are they different in real life?
Which do you prefer and find easier to make - friendship born on the web or that in real life? Why?

_{I took each pic with my Samsung Galaxy A3 2016 and just used my phone filter to give that last pic that filter. The egg holders are mementos from my cyber friend so cute huh?}

---

---

Are you new in Steemit? Kindly read the Complete Steemit Etiquette Guide Revised Edition authored by @thecryptofiend to help us all get along well with each other. Hopefully you do get to read it now since there's nothing else that comes after it except that picture below.

---

---