The Kindness of Strangers

I don’t care what some may say, there are plenty of good people in this world. And I have met some of them on this crazy and unexpected adventure of mine. Some might even think there aren’t the kind of people in this world that will do something out of the kindness of their hearts with no strings attached and certainly getting nothing in return (except, hopefully, the satisfaction of helping a fellow human being in their time of crisis). I have to disagree with them. I have now been blessed with 4 strangers sticking their necks out for me, and they received nothing in return from me but sincere gratitude. The first such strangers were the young Australian couple who helped me on the Champs Elysee when an ATM kept my debit card. I’m sure their willingness to lend me their phone to call the bank who owns the ATM, the VISA hotline, and the after hours hotline of my bank back home, cost them an arm and a leg. They even offered three different times to give me money, but I refused. They had done so much already. The next two strangers are two airline agents at the airport in Aalborg. I was already flying into Aalborg from Paris knowing that I was going to have about 15 hours between my arrival and my departure back to Copenhagen. The times of my two different flights were the only ones I could get/afford. I had already resigned to the fact that I was most likely going to have to spend at least part of the night outside of the airport in the freezing cold Scandinavian weather. (I believe it’s about in the high teens/low 20s at the moment.) I was planning on staying in the airport until they close, walk outside, bear through the night, and then walk back inside as soon as it opened again around 4 am. However, as soon as I arrived, I walked to the nearest SAS counter to speak with an agent. Maybe there was some way that they would let me stay inside the airport. My other thought was to lock myself in a bathroom stall and hope security wouldn’t discover me. I briefly explained to the woman of the massive amount of time between my two flights and the fact that I had absolutely no money left in my pocket (aside from about 10 euros which I would need for food at some point), and she told me to go speak with the airport traffic control; perhaps they could do something for me. I walked into the traffic control office and again shared my sob story with the young man working there. He was shocked when I told him I didn’t have any money, and asked me to wait while he called another man (I assumed the next guy on shift or his manager). Even though the man was talking on the phone in Danish, I understood a little bit of what he was saying. He was even laughing quite a bit, something I wasn’t really understanding. I didn’t think it was funny. When he got off the phone, he approached me and said he was sorry but it wasn’t possible for me to stay in the airport overnight, but that I should “give him a call later” in a tone that suggested something I wasn’t about to agree to. I became disgusted with his unprofessionalism that I merely said, “No, that’s alright. Thank you anyway” without looking at him, and I just walked out of the office. I kept calm and headed back to the woman at the SAS counter. When she asked me if they were able to help, I suddenly lost it altogether. Mind you I had kept my cool throughout this entire time since finding out I had to leave France and go back home sooner than planned. I even remained calm aside from a short-lived heart attack I received when I saw the ATM screen display “Your bank has retained your card for safety reasons.” Not exactly something you want to see when you’re in a foreign country by yourself, only have 7 euros in your pocket, and you haven’t paid for your hotel yet. But now was the time I lost all control when the woman asked me what was wrong and why I was in Aalborg. Amidst uncontrollable sobbing and gasping for breath, I blurted out my entire story to her in about 30 seconds. And I mean everything, albeit most of it was incoherent I’m sure. I even told her about the man she sent me to see and how unprofessional he acted. She got very angry and went to go speak with him. She told me to sit and relax, and she would figure something out. I think I lost it more out of anger and frustration that the man was making light of my situation and for the unnecessary comment he made. After about 5 minutes, I had calmed down by the time she came back. The woman was still angry at that man for making a suggestive comment to me. She informed me that he said he was only joking, but she gave him an earful anyway and made him call the next man on duty again. While this was going on, the woman went off to speak with 2 other women and a man who looked like a supervisor. After some time, she came back to tell me that they were working on getting me a flight that went back to Copenhagen in an hour. The international terminal is open all night so it wouldn’t be a problem for me to stay there. This was a much better option than being kicked out into the cold. I should also mention that SAS so far has been making me check in my backpack as well, which was allowed as a carryon when I first left Seattle back in October. This meant an extra fee for a second bag for which I also didn’t have money for. The woman came back and told me they were able to get me on that flight back to Copenhagen. However, it’s on a different airline, one that isn’t even connected with SAS at all aside from their ticket counters being next to each other. This means the woman working for that other airline was also willing to help out a complete stranger for nothing in return. The two women worked together to get me on that flight and checked in my baggage without making me pay for the extra one. While the woman of the other airlines was getting me all situated, the woman from SAS came to tell me goodbye. She had stayed after her shift was over to make sure I was safe, out of the cold, and heading back to Copenhagen. I had already thanked her a million times, but thanked her a million times again. She then gave me a hug like we were old friends, and told me that everything was going to be okay. I will never forget this woman and the immense kindness she showed to me. So, now here I sit in the international terminal of the Copenhagen airport. I’m comfortable, happy to be out of the cold, and still filled with awe at kinds of strangers. I’m a believer in karma, paying it forward, or whatever it is you want to call it. And now it’s my turn to help someone out of pure generosity without expecting anything in return. I’m ready and willing to do this whenever the opportunity presents itself. To those two women and the Australian couple, thank you again. Your kindness was so much more greatly appreciated than you could ever imagine, and I hope someday someone out there will show you the same in return.

I'm Taking the Train to Paris

So today is particularly special to me. I started taking French lessons my Freshman year of high school, and since that time, it has been a dream of mine to go to France and especially Paris in particular. Well today, after 13 years of dreaming, it’s finally happening. It seems a bit surreal to me, but I can’t remember the last time I was this excited about something. I was supposed to have gone to Paris almost 9 years ago, but those plans were interrupted. But that’s how it was meant to be. I wasn’t meant to be in Paris until today. So now I’m leaving behind the breath-taking, snowy French Alps where I was able to spend almost a month with a family I now consider to be my friends, and head to the big city. My train left from Cluses at 9:22, and as it passes through the beautiful countryside on this crisp and foggy morning, I can’t help but feel blessed to be where I’m at. Even though this adventure has had it’s ups and downs, I am grateful for the experience. It is this very experience that is leading me towards a fulfulling a dream, mon voyage à la belle ville de Paris. 

Lessons Learned (and some yet to figure out)

Well, this is officially my first blog post. I really should have started this back in September when I was heading to Nigeria. Many things have happened since then, so this first blog will be a quick recap of past adventures and leading up to where I am today.

September 1st marked my first participation in a medical mission trip, and it certainly won't be the last. I feel absolutely blessed to have been a part of the amazing work that was done over there. Initially, I had promised to keep a blog while I was there, but because the internet was so sketchy and my emotions were too intense to even write, I wasn't able to keep my promise. Nigeria changed me more than I could ever describe. I didn't realize until I returned home that this is something I want to do for as long as I am physically able to. My experiences there will never be forgotten, and I wait for the day when I can return. There is another trip coming up in March, and I will do everything in my power to make sure I am on that plane.

Before the trip to Nigeria, I had accepted a job as an Au Pair for a family in Denmark. This new chapter in my life started on October 31st when I flew from Seattle to Aalborg. The job was supposed to last for 6 months, and then I planned to backpack around Europe for 3 months after that. As most of you already know, plans didn't work out exactly as I had hoped.

At the beginning of December, I was blessed with an escape from my difficult situation in Denmark. Through the same website I used before, I met a wonderful British family living in Morillon, France. They have two young girls; Ella who is 5, and Emie who is 3. Toni and Jez were ready to welcome me into their home, so 2 weeks before Christmas, I packed up and headed for the beautiful French Alps. It is now January 4th, and again I will be moving on in a week. This was not my decision, and part of me is disappointed. However, I know that everything happens for a reason, so I have faith that something amazing is waiting for me when I return home.

On Monday I take the train to Paris. Even though my trip has been cut extremely short, and I won't get to see much of Europe at all, I am so grateful to be able to spend a little bit of time exploring Paris. Since I started French lessons when I was 15, I dreamed of one day going there. Now that day has almost arrived. After enjoying almost 5 days in Paris, I will be heading home on the 14th and ending this strange and challenging journey.

This last week has brought with it a wide range of emotions. I'm torn between being grateful to be going home and lamenting the all too quick ending of a once in a lifetime opportunity. I will be so happy to see my family again (I fly home just in time for my niece's 1st birthday!), but I will shed a few tears knowing that I'll be leaving behind adventures I didn't get to experience. However, I do have some things I will be taking away from this, both good and bad. Many things were learned in these two and half months, from the very simple- if I ever own a house, I will NEVER have white flooring, it shows everything- to the more complex- sometimes, even though people may ask for honesty, it doesn't always mean they're able to hear the truth. I learned that when I really need to, I am able to stand up for myself and not be pushed around. I learned to accept some things as they are, even if I don't like it. I experienced loneliness like never before, fear, my first Christmas away from home, doubt, and heartache that won't go away. I experienced new foods, traveling by myself, the welcoming arms of strangers, crazy French holiday festivities, and skiing on Christmas day in the Alps. I stumbled many times along the way, hurt myself, and hurt the person who was trying to keep me standing up. Nothing was perfect, not much was how I planned or hoped, but in a small way I was able to adapt and change that plan as best as I could. It's just another chapter I am adding to my story.