A Little Help From My Friends #2

The graphic above is of our family "business" card that we had printed for this trip.  Some times when people find out that we are traveling around the world with our family of 6 they ask, "Do you have a blog?"  Rather than have to write it down every time we had these printed.  If you have one of these cards and are reading this now I just want to say, "Thank you very much for being a part of our adventure!  Somehow, somewhere along the way we have met and I am grateful that we did."

I have been soooo thankful lately for the many people who have helped us and supported us along our way.  We meet people everywhere who can tell that we are American just by looking.  And we often attract attention to ourselves because we are obviously clueless or doing something un-European or inappropriate.  This often leads to fun conversations with kind people.  Here are some examples.

There were the newlyweds from church who invited us over for Family Home Evening.  We had treats and went geocaching with them in the city.

The other night before the train pulled out of the station the conductor made an announcement and I had NO clue what he had said.  I recognized the name of one of the cities that he had said and knew that wasn't supposed to be on our route.  My face must have given me away because the lady next to me said in perfect but accented English, "Did you understand what he said?"  I readily admitted that I didn't and she explained that our train was going to be delayed because there was a delay on the train from that other city and there were passengers on that train that needed to be on our train.  That little kindness did much to resolve my fear of being on the wrong train.

There was the shop owner who was able to get us back on the map on our way to church when we got lost.

There was the little old lady who sat behind us on the bus and noticed us checking out the signs at every stop trying to figure out where we were.  It turned out that she was going to the same stop as us and she made sure we got off at the right place.  Once we were off the bus she even walked us to the street we were looking for.

There was the lady from church who drove us to the bus stop, sold us her family's bus tickets, made a recommendation for lunch and ice cream, and then pulled away likely never to see us again.

Other people that we meet don't fill an immediate need for information or transportation or anything else but are so kind, genuinely supportive, and positive that it makes us feel connected.  We really enjoy those conversations and appreciate those kind people. 

I'm thankful for each person who has helped us along the way, big or small.  I vow to be more sensitive and helpful to others, especially travelers!