Picture this, you hop on a bike on the island of Norderney to bike to the ferry, and you hope on the ferry and get the chance to feel sea salt spritz your face. Then you hop on a train to a random station on the western border of Germany. You get off the bus and eat a nice saurkraut and ham sandwich at the train station and walk out to a connecting bus. The stop is under construction so you ask a random bus driver where to go. The nice old lady who speaks hardly any English helps you get to the right stop. Then at the right stop, a random man comforts us that we are at the right stop. When the bust doesn't come for about 20 minutes, a young Romanian man then comes up and explains that we are still at the right stop. Then when you get on the bus a ride that should take 55 minutes ends up taking 2 hours and you miss your connecting train in the Netherlands. The nice Romanina man now jokes that if he was approved as an Uber-like driver, he would take us to the airport himself. Then you miss your backup train by the time you run to the train station. So, a young dutch couple stops and talks to you in English to help you find the next best train. When you get to the airport you're late. The gate should close in 20 minutes. So you go to the 4-hour security line and ask everyone in front of you one by one and chunk by chunk if you can cut in front to make your flight. Every gender, religion, ethnicity, and language tells you yes and encourages you with a "go go go". Then you run to your terminal just to find out you are not 20 minutes from missing your flight, your flight is delayed. Then it becomes delayed for almost 5 hours. As time goes by elderly men come up to you from different countries and just ask if you are okay and if you need help calling the airlines to barter for a free hospital if the flight gets canceled. Then you finally board the plane and the Scottish flight attendants explain that the flight had been canceled and it was a Scottish crew on their day off that came to the Netherlands to fly their people home. Then you arrive in Edinburgh to find a long customs line, but yet as soon as you break through an additional hour later, your cousin who was waiting the whole time to pick you up, takes you home and shows you to Edinburgh the next day. When you get off the train in Edinburgh the next day you walk around and see a random parade. The old couple next to you hears your accent and asks where you are from and explain all about the parade. Then you go to a cafe for lunch and your waiter suggests trying Scottish Soda Irn Bru because it tastes different for everyone. She then comes back later and asks what it tastes like. You respond with orange cough syrup, cream soda, and ginger ale. Then a table next to you finds out its your first time in Scotland and asks you what it tastes like too. Then after a tourist day you make your way to a cafe and talk to a young girl from Turkey behind the counter. After explaining her questions about the US, she explains that she is about to close her shop for the day and gives you and your friends free cannolis and free tea. Then you get back to find a family member you have yet to meet cook you a homemade American dinner to feel welcome. Then you have the best day ever with your family while they take you to cool hiking spots out of the kindness of wanting to show you their country and take time to get to know you.
Getting to Scotland may have been stressful, but God used it to show me kindness in the smallest and largest of places in a magnificent way throughout the trip. And I'm thankful for my friends and family that made it the best trip ever too!
No comments:
Post a Comment