Latvia's Independence Day is on November 18th. That means we usually get a three day weekend at that time. It's no Thanksgiving, but it's pretty close.
One year ago, I was spending my long weekend locked away in my apartment doing grad school. Of course, after a few hours offocused work, it is nice to take a break. My breaks often consisted of swiping through Tinder - more of a game at that point than an actual attempt to find a date.
But, one year ago, I matched with a Dutch guy named Dennis. Who then messaged me. Our conversation went on for a bit... he asked why I was in Riga... I asked why he was in Riga... he shared some of his thoughts on the city... then he asked if I wanted to meet.
Honestly, I didn't. It was nothing against him! It's that on a dark, rainy, cold November evening, it's so much easier to stay in. But he seemed pretty funny and smart, so I figured an hour or two would be enough of an escape for me and then I could return home and continuebinge-watching Netflix working on assignments.
We met around 9pm and quickly ducked into the closest bar to escape the cold and rain. Four hours later, I found myself not wanting to leave. It could have been the cold and rain or the fact that I knew there were piles of work waiting for me in the apartment. But it wasn't those things.
The next day, he and I met again to walk around Riga's Old Town and I told him about all the ridiculous, and mostly false, stories of Riga's past I had heard. Again, four hours passed in a flash and again, I found myself not wanting to return home.
Dennis was leaving Riga on Monday morning and I figured that would be the end of the Dutch guy. I was pleasantly surprised (read: literally jumping up and down) on Monday evening when I received another message from him asking about my day.
Fast forward to one year later, and the messages continue. As do the letters and postcards and emails and packages and skype calls. So many skype calls. A long-distance relationship is certainly not ideal. I spend my week waiting for Friday evening when that skype window opens and I am greeted once again by his wonderful smile and cheery "yea, there she is." My year has been measured in the months, weeks, and days between visits. Each visit is better than the last and unfortunately, they seem to go by faster and faster. But we make the best of them.
I could go on and on about him, but he would hate that. hehe. I certainly never imagined any of this as I rushed through the rain last November. But, I am thankful he convinced me to venture out that night. And I am incredibly grateful for all the moments since.
One year ago, I was spending my long weekend locked away in my apartment doing grad school. Of course, after a few hours of
But, one year ago, I matched with a Dutch guy named Dennis. Who then messaged me. Our conversation went on for a bit... he asked why I was in Riga... I asked why he was in Riga... he shared some of his thoughts on the city... then he asked if I wanted to meet.
Honestly, I didn't. It was nothing against him! It's that on a dark, rainy, cold November evening, it's so much easier to stay in. But he seemed pretty funny and smart, so I figured an hour or two would be enough of an escape for me and then I could return home and continue
We met around 9pm and quickly ducked into the closest bar to escape the cold and rain. Four hours later, I found myself not wanting to leave. It could have been the cold and rain or the fact that I knew there were piles of work waiting for me in the apartment. But it wasn't those things.
The next day, he and I met again to walk around Riga's Old Town and I told him about all the ridiculous, and mostly false, stories of Riga's past I had heard. Again, four hours passed in a flash and again, I found myself not wanting to return home.
Dennis was leaving Riga on Monday morning and I figured that would be the end of the Dutch guy. I was pleasantly surprised (read: literally jumping up and down) on Monday evening when I received another message from him asking about my day.
Fast forward to one year later, and the messages continue. As do the letters and postcards and emails and packages and skype calls. So many skype calls. A long-distance relationship is certainly not ideal. I spend my week waiting for Friday evening when that skype window opens and I am greeted once again by his wonderful smile and cheery "yea, there she is." My year has been measured in the months, weeks, and days between visits. Each visit is better than the last and unfortunately, they seem to go by faster and faster. But we make the best of them.I could go on and on about him, but he would hate that. hehe. I certainly never imagined any of this as I rushed through the rain last November. But, I am thankful he convinced me to venture out that night. And I am incredibly grateful for all the moments since.
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