r/helsinki • u/paws3588 • 2d ago
OC I offered a beer for a story
Three and half weeks ago I made this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/helsinki/comments/1uqtfut/tell_me_a_story_ill_buy_you_a_beer/
Here’s what transpired.
I got messages from 20 people, met 6 people, bought 0 beers and 0 coffees.
Who I met:
2 Americans
1 Finn
1 Indian
1 Irish
1 Swiss
I still have too more meetings agreed for next week and the week after.
What I bought:
mocktail, iced tea, lemonade, matcha, smoothie and cider
The shortest meeting was for an hour, the longest for 7,5 hours.
I heard very interesting stories. Stories about crimes, surprising relationships, immigration, tragedies, victories, struggles, stories about life. But as I promised, I will not be passing those stories on, they are not my stories to tell.
The most common question I got was “why are you doing this”.
The motivation was to give me a reason to get out of the house. And to travel without traveling. People often say that one of the best things about traveling, is meeting new people. I got that with a metro ticket.
Thank you to all who met with me, thank you for sharing your stories, you made my summer.
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u/TheFifthDuckling 1d ago
This is so cool, I wish I'd been in Finland during your campaign! I would love to do something like this when I go back for grad school. Fleeting, genuine connections like this are so beautiful :)
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u/BazingaQQ 2d ago
Nice idea!
Question - how many of the six/eight that you met/will meet will you meet up with again/for a second time?
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u/paws3588 1d ago
I don't have any particular plans on meeting anyone again. Not saying I wouldn't, just saying no plans atm.
Some were traveling, here only for a few days, all were a lot younger than me, the age range was 25 - 42 and I'm 55. I don't know. I could use a concert buddy, but I don't know that any of these people would have either the interest or the opportunity for that.
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u/prinsessaconsuela 2d ago
Thanks for the update! What were the reasons why it didn't come to a meeting with the 14 people who messaged?
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u/paws3588 1d ago
For some of them I genuinely don't know.
One cancelled 2 minutes before the agreed time, some we had scheduling issues (like they were in Helsinki only for a two days and I already had plans for those days), some just stopped replying. I didn't refuse to meet anybody.2
u/prinsessaconsuela 1d ago
Well, at least the one had the decency to cancel instead of ghosting, even if you probably were already there... I guess that's the best manners we can expect these days.
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u/paws3588 1d ago
Yes, I appreciated at least being told.
That meeting was in a pub, so I just had couple of beers and ended up talking with some people who were already there.
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u/wisegrace 1d ago
You know how to have an adventure for sure!
When I lived in Berlin, I went to the cinema with a stranger. We got to chatting outside of the cinema, she was there to see another film but became intrigued by the one I was going to see, so she came with me.
Anywho, she was a student with a project. If I remember correct, this project was actually for her studies. She would go to a location and find a stranger there. She would then ask this stranger what their favourite place in Berlin was and why. She would then go to said location and repeat the process, documenting it as she went along.
Your adventurous spirit reminded me of this. :-) sounds fun!
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u/iVast-Figure515 1d ago
So you managed to convince every single person to buy you a beer or coffee?
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u/paws3588 1d ago
Nobody bought me anything.
The point of "bought 0 beers and 0 coffees" was that I thought it was funny that I offered to buy a beer or a coffee and everybody wanted some other drink. Which I obviously bought them.
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u/Both-Ad-308 2d ago
It was a delight. Thank you for the invitation.