Internet friend dating

Before moving to Spain, I had never said these words in this sequential order: "We met through the Internet."  Now that I have a blog and live abroad, I say it all the time.  And I think that's one of my favorite things about writing a blog--connecting with people with similar interests.

There's almost an immediate bond when you meet another expat in Spain because your both walking around in the same zapatos.  First you tomar a coffee or beer, compare "how-did-you-end-up-here" stories, laugh at the "when-I-first-arrived-here-I-didn't understand-this" stories, and then the rest is history.

Here are some people I met through my blog or blogging-related sites over the past year:


Margot
From: France

Margot was the first person I met through the blogging world.  After I submitted my blog to www.expat-blog.com last year, we found each other through the site's social network.  We met up for a few tapas one evening, and then started hanging out regularly.  She was in Murcia doing an internship for a French hotel chain.  We spent quite a few evenings hanging out on the third floor of the Murcia Novotel watching TV series and raiding the employees' lounge snack bar.  Since then Margot has returned to France, but I'm hoping to one day visit her in Lyon.


Richelle
From: USA

Richelle is a fellow blogger (check out Un día voy a ser otra distinta) who I met through Guiri Guia last year.  After receiving her school placement to be a language assistant in Murcia, she left a comment on one of my posts with her email address.  I responded and we kept an email conversation going for a few months.  It took us about five months after she arrived to Murcia, but we finally met back in March.  We spent the day roaming the city looking at art and eating ice cream.  Last month we met for one merienda before she headed back to the States.


Leah
From: USA

We didn't actually meet through my blog, but rather through coincidence, although the blog does come into play here.  In the winter I attended a yoga class in a small, private studio.  I don't know how it happened, but this place attracted a lot of guiris.  One day I was talking to another friend in the class and a girl turned around and asked, "I know this is going to sound really weird, but do you have a blog?"  It turns out that Leah read my blog last year before moving to Murcia, and we ended up meeting in a tiny little yoga studio.  The world is certainly a handkerchief.

Last, but certainly not least..

Eve

From: France

I also met Even through Expat Blog last spring.  We hung out a few times, and then Eve quickly fit right into our "guiri" group.  Since the evening we met, Eve and I hang out at our monthly (sometimes weekly) guiri get-togethers.  She has lived in Spain for seven years and now lives with her husband on the beautiful coast (remember?).  Eve and I have become close friends, and she's one friend I have no doubt that we'll keep int touch through the years.  We're even planning a possible get together in New York this fall.  

These are all guiris that I'll certainly miss once I leave.  But I guess the good thing about meeting friends through the Internet is that you can keep them through the Internet.  Encantada de conoceros, chicas.

My advice to a guiri:  Join an expat website (like www.expat-blog.com).  It may seem strange at first trying to meet people online, but with most guiris you immediately have common ground to start from.