Random Acts of Kindness I received while Traveling
Avoiding pessimistic news on TV and even our social media feeds seems virtually impossible. With the bombardment of such negativity, it is easy to fall into a cycle of hopelessness for humanity. I strive to practice gratitude daily to be always reminded of the good.
While not ignoring the challenges we must overcome, this post highlights five acts of kindness from people who could have easily avoided involvement yet chose to help me, a much appreciative stranger, get through many unfortunate situations while traveling.
1. Third Time’s the Charm.
Location: Raleigh Durham International Airport
During grad school, I traveled to Europe one spring break with a guy I was dating. The trip was initially supposed to be 12 days of exploring Venice and different cities in Austria. But, ultimately, it was shortened to a 10-day trip because getting there was rough! My flight to Munich from Raleigh, NC, was canceled twice. It was rescheduled for a 6 am flight the following day. At 4 am, the airport was already crowded due to all the flights that had been canceled the previous night. Like I often do when I’m traveling alone, I engage in conversations with strangers. In line ahead of me stood four Hillsong Church members traveling to Ethiopia for a mission trip. I talked to the Pastor for about 30 minutes while standing in line before we reached an agent. By that time, the prompter said that the flight was canceled. We were all heading to DC to catch our international connecting flights. I overheard them talking about driving to DC. I said a quick prayer in my head, asking for guidance, took a leap of faith, and asked the Pastor if I could join them for the ride and contribute gas money. Despite their connection flight in DC being much later than mine, they rented a car ASAP to make sure I could make my flight and didn’t accept my gas money!
2. Kiss from a Rose.
Location: Frankfurt, Germany
I made my Lufthansa Airline flight from DC to Frankfurt, and while walking out, the flight attendant randomly handed me a rose! It was just the comfort I needed after such a tumultuous journey. I knew it was another way of God telling me, “Hey, I’m still here!”
3. Are We There Yet?
Location: Venice, Italy
Two canceled flights, a 5-hour drive to DC, and two connecting flights later, I was finally in Munich! Arriving two days late drastically shifted our itinerary. Initially, we were supposed to spend some time in Kufstein, Austria, before we drove to Venice. However, we had to drive 5.5 hours to go directly to Venice due to the delays. Anyone who has been to Venice will tell you it is a maze! We arrived at night and had trouble locating our hotel. We were tired (I was borderline delusional) and extremely lost, walking around for about 45 minutes. We came across an American man who was on his way back to his hotel, and he spent another 20 minutes with us, helping us find our hotel room.
4. We Gon’ Save that Money.
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
On a separate trip to Europe with my best friends, while in Amsterdam, my friend unknowingly received a ripped 50 euro while dining. We were searching for a place to replace it with a non-torn bill. We went to two banks that didn’t exchange it. I randomly stopped a man on the street to ask if he knew where we could exchange this torn bill, and he said no but gave us the freshest 50 euro bill! We offered him the ripped bill, but he didn’t accept it. The best part was he didn’t even want our numbers or expect a service in return!
5. I Keep on Falling.
Location: London, UK
During the winter break of my last year in graduate school, I took a trip throughout Southeast Asia. While in Krabi, Thailand I fell off of an ATV in a little ditch and it landed on my leg. My adrenaline gave me some superhuman strength because I could push the ATV off of my leg. I had a little puncture wound that we cleaned up immediately, and with the help of great friends to lean on, I was able to walk. We ended our trip to Bangkok, where I rested for two days with my leg elevated and iced. On returning to the U.S., we had an overnight layover in London. At that time, I thought I was healing correctly; however, I realized during my flight that my ankle was severely swollen and turned black and blue. While in a London Tube station, I was distraught and crying, and so many strangers came up to me to ask what was wrong and give me advice on where to go. One of my friends helped me get to an urgent care, where I received x-rays and a blood thinner shot free of charge. Thanks, single-payer insurance system!
These are just a few of the many acts of kindness I’ve been on the receiving end of while traveling. I’m so grateful for these people because they serve as a much-needed reminder of the goodness left in the world. They are the light in a world that can seem very dark.
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