Brief non bullshit friendships

Nataliia and I met in a somewhat unconventional manner, although in this day and age I suppose it is all the more normal.

 

I had recently relocated to a new town, of Bergen op Zoom in The Netherlands, and because I got Thursdays  from work off, was wanting to meet up with a local for a bike ride, or perhaps a coffee in one of the cafe's. I had sent out a few simple messages on couchsurfing and awaited responses, but not thinking much of it.

 

I received an email via the website the next day from, none other than Nataliia, who is originally from the Ukraine, and was at the time living with her Dutch boyfriend in the town. She, however, was not one of the recipients I had sent a message to, but had sent talmost the same message to me, wanting to meet for a coffee, or a chat. There was something about the situation that gave me a good feeling about this, and so we met up the following Thursday. We continued to meet up every week, at the same cafe' and had grown close in the matter of a few weeks.

 

She has since then moved away from Bergen op Zoom, and is currently living her dream of seeing Paris and travelling the rest of Europe. Although our friendship was short lived by her departure, whenever a Thursday approaches, I think of her fondly...