Breaking Barriers - Meetup with Strangers!

It's amazing how I always find something new to learn or experience. I moved to Toronto,Canada recently. Have no friends here, and just 2 acquaintances (more of reference contacts who stay in Toronto in case I needed help). First couple of months went in getting the logistics lined up, so was busy. This weekend was the first time, when I wanted to explore the city, and I did not know where to begin.

Google has been my best buddy in Canada so far; always at my disposal and ready to guide me. But I wanted to go hiking this weekend, and I did not want to do it alone, nor did I have time to do detailed study of trails etc...

I am not a social network person. I have Facebook account, which once in a while I log in. No twitter or Instagram accounts. Whattsapp, I keep it updated for my family to know my whereabouts. The only thing I love is blog'ing.

So, very nervously, I registered on Meetup. Then searched for groups with keyword hiking. obviously a whole bunch showed up; and I gingerly joined Toronto Hiking GTA group since that had a hike coming up on the weekend. Then I found their upcoming Sunday hike in Mono Cliff, 13 people going, 16 KMs, I registered for that hike. This happened on Saturday morning; and then throughout the day I started reflecting back, only one question came to my head - is it safe? If I would have done this in Denver or anywhere in USA, I knew I had people watching my back. If I dint show up in the evening, friends would investigate. But here in Canada, I am a ghost. No one knows who I am or what I do. I thought I will leave a message with couple of friends, just in case. Maybe I will drive to their meetup point, and if I don't get a good vibe, I will drop out and drive back.

But I am glad, I clicked on register button and joined the Mono Cliffs hike. 2 Russians, 4 Canadians, 1 Pakistani, 2 Mexicans; a diverse group from various age groups. But all had one thing in common, passion for hiking and we all shared same bucket list - Machu Pichu, Kilimanjaro, Everest base camp etc... I learnt so much from their experiences, I was glad I decided to try this out.

When I told a friend, she asked, how can you go out with people you haven't met at all; I said - when you are alone, you have to learn to trust strangers, give them a chance; sometimes you will get cheated, but most of the time, you will have a wonderful experience. We trust but with care, we never let our guards down.

Everyone in that meetup group had the same problem I had in last few years, 'we don't have company to hike; our friends don't like hiking'. And after meeting them all, I realized one thing - Life is too short to wait for a company to fulfill your dreams. Just keep doing what you love, you will find company along the way. Like they say, there are no strangers here, just friends we haven't yet met.

This hike has left me highly motivated to do what I love.

- Sarita
Dated - 21st October 2018

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