I’ve liked meeting people from other countries all my life. Living in Washington, DC there’s no end of people from all over the world who visit, work, or live in the area. It’s a crossroads. I hear different accents and different stories whenever I reach out and start a conversation. I love it. I enjoy those chats, and remember them for a long time. I learn a lot too. People respond to genuine interest, like the person I met the other day – a traveler I met in line.
I was at Trader Joe’s – a long line the night before our big snow. This is going to take awhile, I thought. I looked at the woman next to me. She smiled, didn’t look down or away, and we started to talk. When I heard her accent, I smiled. I was in luck – someone from another country.
She was from South Africa – Durban, not Cape Town – a place I’ve always longed to visit. She’d been a CEO for a company back home, gave up that life when she moved to the US with her husband, started a family. She was a full time mom by choice, completely happy. Her husband had ended his high powered career a few years ago and the family traveled around the world for a year and then came back to DC. Wow, I thought, they really know how to live. I listened, transfixed by her accent, her ease, her comfort. Life was a great adventure, she was relaxed, enjoying her life as it came to her. I said I’d love to visit South Africa, and asked about Paarl, the wine region. She responded eagerly, suggesting her favorite places and talking about Durban.
She started to talk about her favorite places in the US. It turned out she was a Traveler, loved the road and the road trip. She’d driven all over the US; said proudly she’d visited all but nine states. She loved the size of the US, saying, ‘It’s so vast….’, and had a dreamy look when she said ‘vast’. With a brother in Montana, she’d often driven there and then over the border to Canada. Her goal was to drive to the Arctic Circle – she’d reached the border but wanted to venture further next time. I love road trips too, and it was great to recognize the yen to go further, see what’s around every bend, until you’ve gone as far as anyone can go.
When you meet a fellow Traveler, you can share your travel dreams, mention the craziest travel ideas, and you get questions, interest, and sharing. That’s a rare treat, and it was a prize to meet someone so interested in the United States, and hear their wonder at our vast country. I admire that interest, that curiosity about our country. Most of us stick to the major cities, the coasts, the high points. To want to see each state? How many Americans have seen each state, I thought? I certainly haven’t. She wanted to see them all, to see our country by driving. Thank you, I thought, thank you for that interest.
The line moved ahead, her turn at the register. Bag in hand, she looked over her shoulder. ‘Nice talking with you’, she said. ‘Likewise’, I replied, ‘Take care’. We were both in a good mood – Travelers love the chance to meet another Traveler. Until the next chance meeting, I thought, as she headed out the door.
Have you met someone by chance and talked about travel and places? Tell us – we’d like to know!
