All those doubts and fear, IT’S JUST ALL IN YOUR MIND.steemCreated with Sketch.

in life •  7 years ago 

Yesterday, I went to an all girl meet up here in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Every Wednesday, they meet in a vegan cafe. To socialize, to release stress, or just to see each other.

They are regulars, they know everyone pretty well.

I’ve seen pictures of their previous events, and it looks amazing.

I really want to come, but the introvert part of me is scared.

“What will I say to them?”

“Won’t I get out of place?”

“They know each other, how can I be part of the conversation?”

“What will I do as I enter?”

“Do I really want this?.... Like really?”

These are all the thoughts consuming my mind on my way to the meetup place.

Yeah, I decided to go even if I am battling with my own consciousness.

I said to myself, “Try it once, you can check it out, and if you don’t like it, never come back again.”

So the grab driver drops me off, and I said: “Kob kun ka” (Thank you in Thai language).

From the outside, I can see the girls. There are about 5 tables, all jampacked. Everyone is talking, and you can hear several conversations at once.

I can only see two vacant chairs, vacant I mean no people in them, but have bags.

I went inside and I was greeted by the hostess, “Hello welcome to Free Bird Cafe, so glad to have you here. Can you fill this up with your name and email address? It’s our 1 year anniversary doing these meet ups, so we will have a raffle later.”

She handed me the small paper.

“Oh this doesn’t sound so bad,” I thought.

That one time I consider going and it is their anniversary. Lucky me!

That also means there are more people than the usual Wednesday event.

The reason that there aren’t any seats anymore.

So I went inside and try to look for place to sit. There are two girls on this small table that could be occupied by 4, but has their bags on them. They are kinda busy and working on their laptop, so I ask if I could borrow a chair, and transferred to a larger table.

It started awkwardly, they are talking to each other with a conversation going on. And I am here standing, bringing my own different looking chair.

What I did is to browse the menu, just so I could do something.

And when I made up my mind of what to order, I finally had the courage to interrupt two girls interaction.

“Excuse me, how should I order?” I said with a soft voice.

“You can order at the counter,” she said pointing where it is.

“Thank you. What’s your name?” I ask.

“I am Gery. How about you?”

And that is where it all started.

The conversation kept on going, and we talk about different stuff. Joining conversation of other people, or being interrupted by someone to blend with what you are saying.

It was crazy! It’s like you need 10 ears at the same time because they are talking about different topics and you want to respond to all of them.

They came from different places and background. Someone from Texas, New York, England, Canada, Peru, San Francisco and so much more. There’s a designer, tax accountant, public speaker, English teacher, app developer and a bunch of people doing all sorts of things.

We get to talk about healthy foods, yoga, meditation, Muay Thai, menstruation, jiu-jitsu, cryptocurrencies, business, movies, living in Thailand, what countries have we been, and where we are headed next.

I learned a lot just by listening.

We even plan out on doing things together like hiking, going to the waterfall, and touring around the city with a motorbike.

That’s what I like about traveling. You get to meet someone you wouldn’t ever have a chance to meet within a regular day.

And in Chiang Mai, there’s a lot of them!

You get to talk people who are far away from your background. All of those in our table are from developed countries, and I am the only one from Asia.

I get to share information about the Philippines and my culture, and they are also happy to share theirs.

It was a great day being able to talk to real people who have the same interest as you. Those that create things, and those that make their own opportunities. Travelers, and open-minded flock.

Coming to this event has been a great idea.

Now I have a circle of friends who I can ping if I need a support system here. Lovely ladies who will uplift and cheer me up.

I realized that it’s just the same as any community. You just have to go there and engage in the conversation. Share what you know and be interested in what they say.

Be it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and here on Steemit. You just got to interact and build connections.

And all those doubts and fear, I tell you, IT’S JUST ALL IN THE MIND.


Photos are taken by f © Amy Louise, © Jouni Flemming; iPhone


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Every thought you listed, I would be thinking the same. I don't even know if I would have the courage to step into that place!
I am very shy and socially awkward but stepping out of our comfort zone is the most rewarding thing ever!
Thanks for sharing your experience! :)

it still feels intimidating! haha. Like they have a group of their own, and they sometimes go out for clubbing and night drinks. I only went to the lunch meet up, and not yet 'in their circle'. But just keep on trying and getting out there. Truly, getting out of your comfort zone is amazing and scary at the same time.

You are welcome :)

That sounds amazing, like a little tribe of digital nomads that does everything together.
Well you made the most important step by putting yourself out there, now it can only get better! :)

Yeah, you can form your own smaller group. They do different kinds of things, that's interesting.

Agreed! I am so excited for what is about to come.

@marypineda yay!!! Certified stalker here

I expected you to comment, haha. Thanks for the support girl! <3

@marypineda Sorry. Got too excited letting you know that I read your post but epic fail. Forgot to leave a comment regarding your post😂😂😂

Anyway, Now we know how powerful genuine interactions are so we know what to do😉.

I am happy that you were able to meet those wonderful people. Hoping to do the same in the near future since where I live now got no opportunity to have that kind of meet up. Hopefully someday.

As always, thanks for sharing and inspiring me. 😊😊😊 And congratulations for being brave enough to go and start a conversation with them. Maybe it will be awkward if I try doing it. Now I am more excited to meet you😍😍😍.

Why do I feel like I know you for so long? Maybe in our past lives we were bff😂😂😂. Got excited every time we converse. It was like you are here and we are really talking face to face.

Ohhh this is so nice. I mean to come back again and comment regarding the post itself. You know how we hate the one line comments, that doesn't make sense, lmao.

I am so glad I went. The nervousness is pretty normal but once you are there you will just start talking and you won't realize you are already speaking for 3 hours straight.

You can do it too, baby steps dear! It's awesome to be surrounded by likeminded individuals empowering the World.

I am excited to see you too, don't make it too long though as I move a lot, lol.

Yeah, felt the same too. It's like our brains are connected and we just get each other.

Thanks for all your support. And keep on writing great stuff! xx

@marypineda one line comment is lame😂😂😂 not true engagement. #JUSTSAYING

WOW! You spoke for 3 hours? That's amazing. And an indication that you have a great time talking to them. Nice!

It's okay if you move a lot. As long as you won't go to planet mars or any other planet. 😂😂😂 if I can travel by a ship or a plane to meet you then it's fine with me. But I won't meet you if you decided to move to other planet. I swear.

Thankyou! Likewise. Enjoyed reading your post😊😊😊

Lol, yeah! It takes time replying but at least you get to share your opinion.

I surely did! And even if you don't want to talk, people will talk to you (which is a good thing).

No plans of going to other planet (yet), lol. I will see you somewhere then.

Appreciate you! <3

@marypineda got you a $1.51 @minnowbooster upgoat, nice!
@marypineda got you a $1.51 @minnowbooster upgoat, nice! (Image: pixabay.com)


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Open-minded flock? I bet you had coffee.
10 ears. I envisioned it as discord came to life!

And may I just say, always nice to be surrounded with amazing ladies. After all, girls rule!

Great stuff as always @marypineda!

Great imagination! Yeah, it's like a discord chat in real life x 100 because they are all girls.

As you know we just love to talk non-stop. And I bet we will be the same when we meet, lol.

Coming from you, this means a lot <3

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@marypineda It's fun to mingle with people of diverse culture especially if one keeps an open mind. thanks for sharing :)

Agreed! It was so diverse that you have all kinds of nationalities. So much fun! And you're welcome! :)

I love this! So glad you had to the courage to go out and meet these other girls! I KNOW that is hard for an introvert but it is always worth it in the end to have a few more friends. I look forward to keeping up with your stories. I'm an expat living in Panama. This is such a great idea to start a meetup for the local expat moms.

Yeah! I know the feeling. Especially if you are the new gal in the area and everyone knew each other. It's intimidating at first. But once you go there and be like them, everything change. It's like you've known them forever.

Definitely, do something like this. It's great for expats and tourists alike. Having a real conncetion will always beat the online. I hope to meet you when Iwhen I visit Panama :)

That would be cool to meet you! :)

will keep you in mind when I plan to visit :)

Good for you to have good friends in there.

Yeah, just met them in this meet up :) Feels nice to be surrounded by people after being in front of the computer the whole day.

  ·  7 years ago Reveal Comment