This is what my Tuesday mornings used to look like in Cyprus. Every other week, a group of us ladies would get together at a coffee shop and giggle for hours. Truly, hours. Mainly expats, we would commiserate together, share tidbits about the island we had learned, and so much more. This little circle of ladies became my family and my lifeline. I still keep in touch with most of them and count myself truly blessed to have crossed paths with them.
An introvert by nature, these mornings saved me from a life of hermitdom. Every other week, I would have somewhere to go, something to look forward to, and friends waiting for me. Once we finally got settled into our Atlanta apartment, I knew I wanted to continue this tradition. I quickly realized that I wanted to carry on this tradition, have a place for women to come together, form friendships, and learn about an area that is pretty foreign to all of us. So I put on my extrovert hat and with the help of a few outgoing friends, invited a gaggle to my little home for a morning of our own.
The only way to fully communicate how fun this was is to show you the one photo I have. It's of my coffee table right before everyone arrived. Five hours later, we were still chatting. In this simple environment, we women found mutual support and something we all crave, friendship. We swapped histories, informed one another of the latest events happening around town that we had heard of, planned outings to search for furniture. We shared our faith, our trials, our hopes. We covered so much ground in just a few hours. And it was wonderful! Just like that, my family circle here in Atlanta expanded and none of us were alone.
When Mr. F came home that night, I was still grinning from the joy of the day. He asked when we were getting together again, and I said, "Soon." A biweekly tradition has been started!
An introvert by nature, these mornings saved me from a life of hermitdom. Every other week, I would have somewhere to go, something to look forward to, and friends waiting for me. Once we finally got settled into our Atlanta apartment, I knew I wanted to continue this tradition. I quickly realized that I wanted to carry on this tradition, have a place for women to come together, form friendships, and learn about an area that is pretty foreign to all of us. So I put on my extrovert hat and with the help of a few outgoing friends, invited a gaggle to my little home for a morning of our own.
The only way to fully communicate how fun this was is to show you the one photo I have. It's of my coffee table right before everyone arrived. Five hours later, we were still chatting. In this simple environment, we women found mutual support and something we all crave, friendship. We swapped histories, informed one another of the latest events happening around town that we had heard of, planned outings to search for furniture. We shared our faith, our trials, our hopes. We covered so much ground in just a few hours. And it was wonderful! Just like that, my family circle here in Atlanta expanded and none of us were alone.
When Mr. F came home that night, I was still grinning from the joy of the day. He asked when we were getting together again, and I said, "Soon." A biweekly tradition has been started!
I am with you in the introvert camp! I could spend days on my own and not actually talk to a real life person. BUT sometimes you can go a bit crazy just being with yourself and you need to feel like people relate to you and share your feelings, especially when you're an expat in a foreign country. Those few friends make all the difference. What a great idea to have a coffee morning with like minded ladies. If I am ever in Atlanta I will be grate crashing. :)
ReplyDeletePlease do! Every other Thursday at my house (: It's such a fun tradition and a great way to meet new people! Just invite people over and ask them to bring a friend. Pretty soon you have a big family.
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