Friend #3 - Zeenath

My Miami bumble bff

Week 3. I’m a bit delayed with writing this week, but I promise there will be 52 posts by the end of the year.

Zeenath was actually the first new friend I met in Miami this year. She’s a medical student who is originally from St. Petersburg, Florida but is currently in her final year of medical school in New Jersey. She was doing a medical rotation in Miami and is an aspiring pediatrician - we met on Bumble BFF (a staple for me in Miami). 

The first time we met was at a Cuban restaurant in Brickell. We instantly hit it off as we spoke about our similar upbringings, our families, and our dating lives.

Zeenath’s parents are both from India and she was raised in a traditional Muslim household. She spoke about the lack of diversity growing up in St. Petersburg and as we bar-hopped after dinner, we quickly got to the topic of arranged marriages.

“My parents met through a matchmaker,” I tell her.

“So you also believe in arranged marriages?” she asks me.

“I think so. People don’t only marry for love,” I say.

“You’re right. If you look at the statistics, arranged marriages have lower divorce rates than love marriages,” she explains.

We both agree that marriage is also an economic prospect and after only two drinks at two bars, we call it a night because we are the type of people that need to be in bed by midnight.

I invited her over for dinner another night. I made shakshuka and as hopeless romantics, we watched Mr. & Mrs. Smith. We talked about our mothers who are both more traditional than our fathers and about Zeenath’s relationship as we snacked on pistachios and chocolate. 

Next time, we met at an Indian restaurant in Downtown Miami. Zeenath shared that there is nothing more cliché than Bollywood films. 

“Which movie should I start with?” I ask.

“It’s called Three Idiots,” she says.

“I’ll watch it one day,” I promise.

We met four times in total before she had to leave for New Jersey but our friendship felt substantial. I also met some of her colleagues. One of whom told me that I have a lovely personality.