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Do you have relatives you have never met? What about relatives you did not even know existed? That was the case with Dilek and her second cousin, who… Surprise! Surprise!...lived in Canberra. How did we even find out about each other? Keep reading, dear friend...
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| With Dileks cousin |
In all fairness, Dilek had heard that there was a fourth family member of her generation (the other two being her brother and cousin). But she thought that he lived in Canada (which he did growing up). Hence, she did not quite know who this person from Canberra was when he first contacted her.
And how did this cousin from Canberra even find Dilek? Well, he accidentally discovered Dilek’s webpage, which carries our mutual surname, when he was trying to register the domain for himself. He sent Dilek an e-mail asking if they were relation, and it turns out, their fathers are first cousins. 😊
Road Trip Sydney → Canberra
Since Dilek wanted to meet her second cousin, and because it was our first visit to Australia, we thought it would be a good idea to visit the capital. Canberra is about 300 km from Sydney, or about 3.5h by car. We ventured out on a road trip together with our friend Saska - the same friend from the trip to the Blue Mountains.
In Canberra, we entered a local café where we had agreed to meet Dilek’s cousin. At this point, Dilek actually did not know what he looked like, since no photos had been exchanged. Only e-mail & SMS. In those days, dear friend, Facebook and other social media were not widely used. When Dilek saw this curly haired, blue eyed guy (who looked nothing like her) she instantly knew that it was her cousin. So did he, because they both approached each other and immediately embraced. Dilek had heard the phrase “blood draws you in” but had never believed it to be true LOL.
Canberra means “Meeting Place” (it is said)
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| Australian Parliament in Canberra |
It was a very nice first meeting. We stayed for a while in the café and started getting to know each other. Thereafter, Dilek’s cousin took us on a Canberra sightseeing tour. We visited the Parliament, the museum of Anzac, the memorial for Kemal Ataturk, and ascended a high hill where we got great views of the city. Too bad the weather was cloudy, otherwise it would have been a great photo spot.
Dilek & Vedran were a bit surprised to find out that Canberra was a relatively small city, compared to other capitals. It is mostly a political / diplomat city, where businesses revolve around the country's politics (or so it was explained to us by the locals). Still, for us, it was a very nice experience.
In the evening, Dilek’s cousin invited us to his home to celebrate this special occasion. All in all, it had been a wonderful day: We had experienced a new capital, learned new things about Australian history, and our family was a bit larger. We got back to Sydney late at night.
Do you have any interesting family stories?
Post in the comments below.
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