Upon reflection of my year of traveling, I decided there were four people interactions I experienced that really blew me away. These are my best "people inspiring faith in the human race" moments....
1.) The random couple on the ferry from Malaig to Skye in Scotland who offered me a ride to Kyleakin when there was no public transportation. Amazing. Crammed me and my substantial bags into their small car, drove about 40 minutes out of their way to drop me off at the door of my hostel and wouldn't accept any money. I realized after they drove away that we hadn't even exchanged names or contact information, just went straight into chatting on the ferry. I kicked myself for not having given my email and offering any help / advice as the wife was training for a half marathon. BUT the world working its fabulous mysteries, I ended up seeing them in a restaurant the next day in a tiny town called Plockton back on the mainland (what are the chances??!! I was ecstatic!) Introductions were made and email addresses exchanged. Satisfaction!
2.) Couchsurfers I met in Cassis, who were not hosting me, but just two random people I met after I finished my hike along the cliffs. We were about a 20 minute walk from town center and I had asked them if they knew the hours for a little grocery store I'd seen. We ended up chatting for about 40 minutes, well past sun set. There was still a bus or two from town center that would take me to the train station, but the Couchsurf host very generously offered to drive me to the train station and wouldn't take no for an answer. The complication arose because his car only had room for one person, and he already had his Couchsurf guest. His brilliant solution was to take her to the train station first (about 5 miles away) drop her off, and then come back and get me, which he did willingly and enthusiastically. So appreciated!
3.) A Swiss family (parents and three daughters around 18-24, all French-speaking) I met at a Graham's Port tour in Porto, Portugal. We were the only ones taking the tour so we were all asking a bunch of questions and started chatting. At the end, we had a tasting, and originally the tour guide had me set up at a separate table from the family, but they invited me to join them so we just continued chatting. In the end, they invited me to their house in Switzerland to taste some of their amazing food (can you imagine, the main topic of our conversation was foods we find scrumptious that pair well with Port, and just delicious things in general) =) They gave me their contact info and we had an original email exchange but that is one of the trips that didn't have a chance to materialize before coming home . . . perhaps for another time . . . Inspiring!
4.) A man I met doing covoiturage (car-sharing in France) contacted me a week later to ask if I wanted to live in their house in Nice for three weeks and watch their three kids. What?! He said I seemed trustworthy. I'm very happy to hear that I inspire confidence in people, but I was still shocked! We'd literally spent maybe three hours together on the drive from Nice to Aix-en-Provence and the ride was shared with 4 other people (covoiturage is a website in France that allows people making trips to publicize their departure and destination, and others looking for rides that fit within the parameters can contact the driver and coordinate to join - it's such a splendid idea!) This was my first time using covoiturage so I had no "reviews" and the profile you create for yourself is super limited, basically just your name. I guess he could just sense the goodness spewing from me. =) The house and child-sitting didn't end up working out either, but I remain flattered by the offer. An intriguing idea!
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