17 'Before Sunrise' Experiences Where People Met A Stranger In A Foreign Country, Spent 24 Hours With Them, & Then Never Saw Them Again

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elina lee
Jan 31, 2023 2:00 PM EST

Life is unpredictable and full of surprises. It often throws many curveballs our way that we could have never foreseen nor expected. But if there's one thing we've learned throughout our time on this earth - it's to go with the flow. Sure, sometimes these so-called surprises may seem like a negative - but that solely depends on how you look at things. For example, if you meet someone nice in a foreign country and instantly hit it off with them - there's no guarantee that things will work out. In fact, it's most likely that you'll never see them again. And so you have two options: you can either sulk and pout about what could have been, or you can take it as a lesson learned, as an experience, and look back at it with a smile. 

Welp, coincidentally enough - that's exactly what we have in store for y'all today. We recently stumbled upon a Reddit post where people shared their 'Before Sunrise' experiences. If you're not familiar with the term already, a 'Before Sunrise' experience is when two people meet (usually in a foreign country), instantly hit it off, spend hours on end together, and then part ways and never see each other again. Bittersweet, but with an emphasis on the sweet. 

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  • 01
    Font - Posted by u/roaming_reader 14 hours ago When, if ever, have you had a 'Before Sunrise' like experience?
    via u/roaming_reader
  • 02
    Organism - Exactly as the title. Have you ever met a stranger or someone new and then just spent the whole day/night with them exploring a new city/place and just talking all the time? It needn't have resulted in love or anything but just as an experience where you didn't want it to to end, like the whole experience was an escape?
    via u/roaming_reader

    The fact it wasn't even about love or sex, but just being in the moment and spending time together ?? We're not crying… you are

  • 03
    Font - sunriseorange47383 12 hr. ago yes - it was absolutely wonderful. i met a guy in florida. (i was visiting from the UK) - instantly connected and stayed up until 7am just chatting and laughing. i honestly think we spent most of that time just hysterically laughing, no alcohol or anything. we told each other all our funny childhood stories. i still chuckle now thinking about some of the stories he told me! at about 7 he reluctantly had to leave to catch his flight home to NYC.
    via u/sunriseorange47383
  • 04
    Font - I happened to be flying to New York a couple of days later before flying home, so we spent 24 hours there just sprinting about the city (as we had to try and see all of NYC in 24 hours). we mostly just lay in central park for hours, telling more stories. it was pretty magical running around NYC holding hands - i did feel like i was in a film tbh. we managed to catch the last entrance into the empire state building. whilst at the top, he put his arms around my waist from behind, rested his
    via u/sunriseorange47383

    Reading these stories, we literally can't believe that these things happen to people in real life! Like omg, how lucky! This is such a special memory that she gets to keep for a lifetime - love that for her. 

  • 05
    Human body - honestly one of my favourite memories. we used to speak a lot but not really now we're both seeing other people i hope he's doing well :)
    via u/sunriseorange47383
  • 06
    Font - Broad-Engineering-63 · 12 hr. ago · edited 12 hr. ago This happened in Mexico in 2017. As a cishet 26 year old European guy, I had arrived in Mexico city 24hrs before my flight home after having bacjpacked through Mexico for 3 weeks. Feeling a bit bored on my final day, I decided to put a little ad on the Couch surfing app, asking for a travel companion to do stuff in the city with.
    via u/Broad-Engineering-63
  • 07
    Font - A local Mexican man of about my age replied. We met up 20 mins later and hit it off instantly. Being a local, he knew some beautiful scenic cafés that tourist generally hadn't discovered, and we went to explore them all. Something about him made me feel very comfortable and able to be genuinely myself, and since it was likely I'd never see him again, I felt I could open up to him a lot easier than I could to the people I knew back home.
    via u/Broad-Engineering-63
  • 08
    Font - It felt quite intimate in a way that most of these Couchsurfing meetups generally aren't. Time flew by, and before we knew it, it was time to part ways again. Shortly before saying goodbye at my hotel, he told me that he was gay. I hadn't expected it, but I was quite alright with it. He asked me if I was gay, and I replied that I considered myself accepting of homosexuality, but didn't quite know what to consider myself, as I had avoided or declined relationships for most of my life, most
    via u/Broad-Engineering-63
  • 09
    Font - There was some tensions at the door to my hotel. It dawned on me that he was looking at me in a way that read: 'I feel attracted to you, but I'm afraid you'll react negatively if I act on it.' I didn't quite know how to react. I just waved him bye, and walked inside, leaving him behind.
    via u/Broad-Engineering-63
  • 10
    Font - In bed, it dawned on me that I felt sad that I hadn't let him kiss me. He clearly wanted to, I saw it in his eyes, and I'd wanted to say yes, but I'd been scared of what that would mean about who I am, and my sexuality. But I had wanted to. All of a sudden I realized how stupid it was to deny a feeling like that. I messaged him and told him how I felt. He was over the moon. We agreed to meet for breakfast the next morning. We ate delicious food, talked about our feelings and dating histor
    via u/Broad-Engineering-63
  • 11
    Font - It was an amazing feeling. Bittersweet, because I had exactly 2 hours to spend with him, before I had to ride the metro to the airport. We hugged and kissed eachother a lot during those 2 hours. We promised to write and chat. Maybe meet up again someday. The goodbye was hard. We both got a bit teary, him more than me.
    via u/Broad-Engineering-63
  • 12
    Font - When I got home, we kept talking for a few months. I realized there were things about my identity and sexual preference that I had tried to suppress my whole life. I went to see a therapist and the ball got rolling. Not only was I bisexual, but I've also avoided relationships my whole life because I was uncomfortable with being a man. 2 more years later I got on gender affirming hormones, and now 3 years later my life has changed completely. I've transitioned and am in a very happy commit
    via u/Broad-Engineering-63
  • 13
    Font - Routine-General3841 12 hr. ago Yes! Denver, CO! I was in town for a wedding, he moved to town less that a week prior. We were both taking public transportation and got to talking. I got off at a stop and he got off at another. I got told off and was being chased by a homeless man when I saw him again. Immediately ran up to him and asked for protection lol. Spent the rest of the day together and followed each other on social media. Still a fully platonic relationship. :D
    via u/Routine-General3841
  • 14
    Font - RosemarySaraBlack 11 hr. ago 2 Yes, I have met a stranger, but in the same city. We met in a bar during happy hour until the restaurant closed. We discussed about our careers, college experience, sports, traveling, hobbies, and interests. It didn't result in love, and there was no flirting involved. He gave me his card, but I never called him back because I was already in a relationship. He was an interesting man. I still think about him from time to time.
    via u/RosemarySaraBlack
  • 15
    Smile - Techchick_Somewhere 9 hr. ago Yes. Was with friends on holiday and got to know the band playing at the local bar. Spent the last night there sitting with the singer on the lifeguard chair to watch the sun come up. It was like a movie.
    via u/Techchick_Somewhere
  • 16
    Font - k8_price 4 hr. ago Wow, great prompt! Brought back some beautiful memories. I had an experience like this on a solo trip in Seattle. I was 23 at the time. It was my first night there and I went downtown to see a show at The Crocodile. It was kinda awkward finding a place to stand and I finally settled in and in-between sets I was listening in on a conversation near me. It was an older woman talking to a guy who seemed about my age. She was there with a friend, and I gleaned that he was al
    via u/k8_price
  • 17
    Font - We talked for a bit and before parting ways that night agreed to meet at a museum at 11am the next day. We didn't exchange numbers or anything! We ended up spending that whole day together. Went to a few museums, grabbed a beer, ate some food. We ended the night getting stoned and sitting on a park bench watching the ferries come in laughing our asses off. It was like 2am by the time I got back to my Airbnb. Gosh I learned so much from him and had such a great time. We haven't really kept
    via u/k8_price

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