Kindness of Others

“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.”

Right now I´m on my trip in Spain and only have time for a quick update. Being in a foreign country, sometimes by myself, I find I am increasingly and incredibly grateful for the kindness of others. My trip got off to a rocky start. When I got to the aiport to fly to Barcelona (alone), there was over a three hour wait to check in because the ENTIRE computer network across Europe had shut down for the airline and they were checking EVERYONE in manually. Who wouldn´t start freaking out just a little? Especially when they are telling you all of this in a different language.

Luckily, there was a girl my age in front of me from Geneva who spoke English & we started chatting. She ended up being on my flight & we spent the whole long ordeal together. At first, she asked me to hold her bag while she ran to change currency..that´s when I started freaking out, because aren´t you always told NEVER to hold bags for strangers? But I trusted her...we trusted each other & it all worked out great. When we got to Barcelona, she met her Dad, who gave us some Chilean cookies, helped me find my hostel on a map he then gave me, & they escorted me to the train station. I don´t know what I would´ve done without them. & now, we´re facebook friends! Who knows, maybe we´ll even see each other again one day?

Even here, I am constantly grateful for Larissa & Marianna, who planned this whole trip where we are doing SO much (more about that later) & they can speak Spanish for when we get lost, to order food, & everything else I would have to gesture & hope for someone who spoke English. I´ll have to save my travel adventures for another day, because it´s late here & we have another full day tomorrow.

On the whole being gracious note, happy valentine´s day to all my friends! You are all wonderful & amazing & I don´t know what I would do without you. I am so thankful to be surrounded by so much love in my life!