We live in a global village and we sure are global citizens!
When I was selected for Connect Live 2018 - @NirajBhusal was one of the first few people that I knew was selected alongside me. I was super excited to meet him alongside others but unfortunately, we both couldn’t make it CL 18 because of visa issues. But I always had the feeling that I’ll meet Niraj one way or another because he was from Nepal and I alwayssss wanted to explore Nepal. Little did I knew that I’ll meet Niraj super soon (not in Nepal tho 
) but in Bangkok, Thailand and that too on a Google event.
Both me and Niraj are a part of Google Developers Group (GDG) in our respective hometowns and we were invited by Google DevRel Team on South Asian Summit in Thailand. It was so wonderful meeting Niraj and introducing him to friends of mine.
Even though we met for a small duration of time but it felt so good. The bond that I have for my fellow local guide is so different that I can’t even explain. I haven’t met most of LG’s but I feel like I’m their best buddy 
(don’t know about others but this is what I think 
) No, but it is true. I’ve made so many awesome friends through connect, Niraj being one of them.
Then @KashifMisidia , @OmerAli , @KarenVChin , @AdrianLunsong , @NunungAfuah , @KimberlyAnnG , @vvbellur and manyyyy moreeeee! I feel so blessed to be a part of this community which is making such long-lasting friendships! 
Talking about communities - recently my GDG/DevRel Community Manager Saad Hamid; a Googler, was in Bay Area for Google Annual Leadership Summit and given I was following him I saw he is attending the same summit which @TraciC was also attending. I got so excited and I randomly commented under Saad’s Facebook post and to my surprise - he met traci there Oh and he mentioned that there was some surprise for me. Saad knew about my selection for CL 2018 and he now also contributes to Google Maps so that he can beat my score one day
I waited for about 20 days for Saad to come back to the country so that he can share the surprise with me and guessss whatttttttt 
traci gave him 2 t-shirts from Connect Live 2018 OMG! I took one and I’m going to parcel 1 to Kashif bhai now :')
I was SO HAPPPPPPY ON THIS DAY THAT I FEEL LIKE DANCING INSIDE OUT
Like I said earlier, I feel super blessed to be a part of this amazing community - it helped me connect with 200+ dynamic individuals from all across the world. It is such a big deal for me, my father always used to say that you learn more when you exchange ideas and meet people from different nations and cultures. For me, being a part of Local Guides Family is more than an education. I feel educated by reading awesome connect posts and whatnot. I also feel the need that I want to educate my fellow local guides too - I remember meeting a guy on an event and I told him you need to not only make good use of Google Maps + write good reviews with all your heart and soul and also join Connect Platform to share your experiences - two days later I read his post and I WAS SO HAPPY :')**Kudos @eam_aay_pee **
& besides that, I also get challenged by my friends on beating my scores 
a friend of mine from Dubai takes great pride in beating my score
Little things like these make me super happy and more connected to Local Guides Program 
Now, with every passing day - I’m more and more excited to meet my 200+ friends in person at Connect Live 2019. Can’t hold my excitement anymore
.
