Oh, The People We Meet

 The longer I go without traveling the more I realize how much I got out of it. Not only do I miss the places I went and the photographic scenery, I miss the people that I met along the way. Some of which I just noticed from a far and others became close friends.

 

Sweden 2005 – The girl I met when I boarded a train to Stockholm. I was nervous I was on the wrong train, so I asked her. Yep I was on the right train and bonus as we talked a bit more I found out that she not only knew about Lindsborg, she had also danced with the Swedish Dancers at Skansen a few years before.

 

Sweden 2005 – Emily, Benjamin and Mark. The three people that made that summer abroad so special. We hung out all the time and there were so many laughs. Still to this day I can’t look at a bag of cheese puffs or a crooked tree with out thinking of them.

 

Sweden 2014 – The woman wailing in the cemetery. I had no interaction with her, but I could feel her pain as I was trying to find my way out of the cemetery I had gotten myself lost in. In a weird way I have often thought back to her sometimes wishing that I could let my feelings come out as freely as she did. I can not help but hold back my emotions if others are around.

 

Sweden 2014 – The night I wandered the city I met a few interesting people. There were the guys in the bus station that were so interested in America, but had never heard of Kansas. While I don’t remember too many details, I do remember at how I laughed to myself about how drunk they still were, but were also very polite. Quite the combination. There was also the gentleman from Africa. He started by asking to borrow my cell phone charger. As he sat next to me charging his phone, we had a wonderfully open conversation about how he came to Sweden and his estrangement from his family. He talked about having not talked with his kids in years and the same with his own father. We sat there and talked about God’s love and how it is never too late to reach out to those that you love.

 

Ireland 2016 – Or really I should say Chicago. The guy I met at the airport who was kind enough to hang out with me for the day that our flight was delayed.

 

 Ireland 2016 – The older gentleman that I thought was yelling at me because I was photographing his picturesque house, but instead he just wanted to make sure he had his hat tilted just right so he could pose for the picture. That’s the type of person I want to be when I’m that age. He smiled so brightly as I took the second picture.

 

Ireland 2016 – The guy in the dining room of the hostel that I chatted with about how Americans can get drivers licenses so easily compared to those in the UK. We also talked about the upcoming election. It was interesting to hear an outsiders perspective.  In this same hostel there were the girls that I had the conversation about how badly I butchered the few words I know in Portuguese. We ended up hanging out in our room and just talking for a couple of hours.

 

Paris 2016 – The gentleman who told me he loved me. Sure, he was probably in his 80s and at first he thought I was stealing the money he dropped. However, the moment he realized that I was bending down to pick up the money to give it back to him his face lit up as if no one had shown him simple kindness in a very long time. He kept saying thank you and I love you over and over as we exited the subway station. It reminded me that sometimes the smallest gestures can mean the most in a soul needing kindness.

 

Paris 2016 – The college student from Florida who was staying the in the same hostel as me. While we were there the shooting at the Florida nightclub happened. She was actually from that area and rightly worried about her friends back home. During a discussion over breakfast I discovered that while we were on different sides of the political aisle we were able to have a very civil political discussion. I learned it easier to do so face to face. While I still don’t like to talk politics, I try to do so in person as you can see as well as hear their intent and at least there I can better get a sense of their side of the debate.

 

New York 2017 – My roommate in the hostel in Brooklyn. She was on her last day in the states and we decided to go to a Broadway show together. After the show she was willing to wait for me as I went to the top of the Empire State Building (she had been earlier that day). Then we got lost on the way back to the hostel due to subway trains not running the regular route after midnight. We got off at a shady part of New York City, but together we were able to find our way back while watching out for each other.

 

Germany 2018 – The generous people in the Munich courtyard area that let me sit with them to eat my supper. It’s an overwhelming concept that in this large outdoor city center that you just find an open seat. Sure, when I’m with friends or family finding a spot amongst strangers isn’t hard to do, but alone I found it terrifying. Luckily, there was a group of people that made an opening so I could have a place to sit. I would find out that they all didn’t come together, which made it a little easier to be the odd man out.

 

Germany 2018 – The tour guide for my day trip to the Dachau Concentration Camp. On the train she shared her story with us. Her father was German and her mother was Japanese. She was raised for some portion of her childhood in either the UK or US. I am vague on the details now, but I do remember that she had been raised with several view points of the war.

 

Germany 2018 – The kind lady who gave me chocolate after I cried myself to sleep after receiving the news of my mother’s passing. She also kindly found my charger after I had a breakdown not being able to find it. She didn’t know what was going on, she just knew that I was distraught and my soul needed some kindness.

Flight from Germany to Florida 2018 – I had found a budget flight home. One of those that if you want any amenities at all you had to pay for them and you had to pay and order in advance if you wanted a meal. There was a nice lady who saw that I didn’t have a meal (I didn’t look close enough when buying the ticket to order a meal) and she gave me one of hers. She said that it was an extra. Again, a little bit of that kindness that my soul needed at that time.

 

Cruise to Mexico 2019 – I’ll end this list with a couple of strangers who brought ridiculous joy and inspiration to me. The first was a woman about 15 years older than me give or take a few years. She had no problem with being the life of the party and making sure that everyone had a little glitter in their life. And by that I mean she actually came around and put glitter on our faces. The second was a woman who was either going to college to become a music teacher or was a new music teacher. Either way she would belt out “Shallow” along with the piano bar musician. She was great and made everyone there feel comfortable. Actually so did the piano bar man, so I’ll add him to this list as well. He got us all singing and enjoying the music.

 

All in all there have been some amazing adventures that I’ve gone on and I’m more than ready to go on more. Meeting people and learning who they are even in the shortest moments is one of the best parts of traveling. That is when you see parts of yourself that you might not have even known were inside ready to come out. So all I ask of 2021 is please, let me take another adventure!