The story of a boy named...
So a guy walks up to you on the street and asks to stay at your place for the night...
It is not what you think. (Although for those who were thinking it, I suppose that would make for another interesting blog post). Anyways mid-January, I was walking with a friend to go salsa dancing when a gentleman on a bike with a backpack stopped us. He spoke Spanish, and at first we thought he just wanted directions, but then he proceeded to ask if we had a couch he could crash on for the night. He explained that he had been biking around the coast of Europe for 11 months and was passing through Vigo and needed a place to stay for the night. My initial thought was, ¨This guy is gonna make us late for salsa class!¨ My second thought was, ¨uhhh what?¨ My third thought was, ¨WWJD?¨ The last thought was a half joke, but my friend replied and suggested a hostel or some erasmus place nearby that might be able to help him out. Part of me fought to keep quiet, but I couldn’t keep my mouth shut and ended up offering this guy my place anyways: ¨You can crash on our couch for the night.¨
I know, you probably think I’m crazy (or not idk). There are soooooo many ¨what if’s¨ that you can come up with in this scenario buuuut to ease your minds the rest of the time you are reading this post, yes I am alive and no, nothing was stolen (or maybe I haven't noticed yet). I of course had my reservations. Either this guy was a master liar and was able to hand write the millions of post cards he showed us from everyone he has met the last 11 months cycling and happened to carry with him a bunch of ¨fake¨ diaries documenting his whole journey OR he was telling me the truth. I chose to believe the latter. Yes I know, you probably still think I’m crazy, but I have two guy roommates so I knew if anything, I could just crash in their room for the night to stay safe (although I’m sure it would have been more of me protecting them jaja, picture your typical slim European guy, and I think you would agree with me). I had friends come over that night just to make sure I was in the clear and part of me did think that the best of the worst-case scenario would be at least dying alongside my good friends and roommates who I love oh so much.
Turns out, after 11 months of journeying solo across Europe, you would have some good stories to tell (who knew!?) It ended up being a lot of fun as he told us stories about the ¨witch¨ lady who offered him to sleep in bed with her, the family who stole his bike, the generous family who gave him a bike several days after, the hospitable millionaire, the one time it took 200 people before one of them agreed to house him for the night, and all the struggles, hardships, and experiences that come along with biking by yourself throughout all of Europe for 11 months. Again, either he was an incredible liar or he was telling the truth. Part of me felt bad asking him so many questions as he probably was 1.tired and 2. has shared the same stories over and over again and been asked the same things. He mentioned he kept diaries because he wants to write a book when he returns back to Belgium, and my friends and I joked that we would need to show him the craziest time in Vigo to make it in at least part of a chapter in his book. And I’m sure every other person he has met the last 11 months has “joked” about the same thing, but here’s to hoping anyways that we make it in his book somehow!
I would say I come from a very hospitable family. No matter who you are, whether you are coming solo or with a group of 5 there will always be a feast ready for you at my house. I’m starting to think my friends come over more for that than me. Despite this, I was still surprised with myself for offering our place--I am usually a very hospitable person, when it comes to hosting friends or even friends of a friend, but this was a complete stranger I was welcoming into my home. The same girl who gets scared when someone knocks on the door in the U.S when not expecting anyone, the girl who doesn’t answer the phone to unknown numbers, the girl who can’t watch a scary movie without tearing up out of fear said yes to this whole situation!
It takes a lot to leave your familiar, comfortable life at home to venture off into the world. With my two suitcases and passport in hand, I was ready to leave my life at home for something new. I thought I was doing something bold, but in comparison to this guy, my move was easy to say the least. All this guy had was a backpack and his bike and to keep him off the streets at night, he has been depending on the kindness of human beings. I get nervous just asking for directions—I can’t imagine asking to stay at someone’s place for a night! Imagine the language barriers, strange people, horrible weather, and lonely nights he must have overcome to continue his journey all the way back to Belgium. I’ve mentioned this before in other posts, but while you learn from people you have known for years, you can also take away something from people you meet for just a couple of days or even from someone you meet just in passing. Without intending to, he reminded me of the beauty in the simple things in life and to appreciate what we do have, and I will always remember that.
Yours truly,
TLT
So a guy walks up to you on the street and asks to stay at your place for the night...
It is not what you think. (Although for those who were thinking it, I suppose that would make for another interesting blog post). Anyways mid-January, I was walking with a friend to go salsa dancing when a gentleman on a bike with a backpack stopped us. He spoke Spanish, and at first we thought he just wanted directions, but then he proceeded to ask if we had a couch he could crash on for the night. He explained that he had been biking around the coast of Europe for 11 months and was passing through Vigo and needed a place to stay for the night. My initial thought was, ¨This guy is gonna make us late for salsa class!¨ My second thought was, ¨uhhh what?¨ My third thought was, ¨WWJD?¨ The last thought was a half joke, but my friend replied and suggested a hostel or some erasmus place nearby that might be able to help him out. Part of me fought to keep quiet, but I couldn’t keep my mouth shut and ended up offering this guy my place anyways: ¨You can crash on our couch for the night.¨
I know, you probably think I’m crazy (or not idk). There are soooooo many ¨what if’s¨ that you can come up with in this scenario buuuut to ease your minds the rest of the time you are reading this post, yes I am alive and no, nothing was stolen (or maybe I haven't noticed yet). I of course had my reservations. Either this guy was a master liar and was able to hand write the millions of post cards he showed us from everyone he has met the last 11 months cycling and happened to carry with him a bunch of ¨fake¨ diaries documenting his whole journey OR he was telling me the truth. I chose to believe the latter. Yes I know, you probably still think I’m crazy, but I have two guy roommates so I knew if anything, I could just crash in their room for the night to stay safe (although I’m sure it would have been more of me protecting them jaja, picture your typical slim European guy, and I think you would agree with me). I had friends come over that night just to make sure I was in the clear and part of me did think that the best of the worst-case scenario would be at least dying alongside my good friends and roommates who I love oh so much.
Turns out, after 11 months of journeying solo across Europe, you would have some good stories to tell (who knew!?) It ended up being a lot of fun as he told us stories about the ¨witch¨ lady who offered him to sleep in bed with her, the family who stole his bike, the generous family who gave him a bike several days after, the hospitable millionaire, the one time it took 200 people before one of them agreed to house him for the night, and all the struggles, hardships, and experiences that come along with biking by yourself throughout all of Europe for 11 months. Again, either he was an incredible liar or he was telling the truth. Part of me felt bad asking him so many questions as he probably was 1.tired and 2. has shared the same stories over and over again and been asked the same things. He mentioned he kept diaries because he wants to write a book when he returns back to Belgium, and my friends and I joked that we would need to show him the craziest time in Vigo to make it in at least part of a chapter in his book. And I’m sure every other person he has met the last 11 months has “joked” about the same thing, but here’s to hoping anyways that we make it in his book somehow!
I would say I come from a very hospitable family. No matter who you are, whether you are coming solo or with a group of 5 there will always be a feast ready for you at my house. I’m starting to think my friends come over more for that than me. Despite this, I was still surprised with myself for offering our place--I am usually a very hospitable person, when it comes to hosting friends or even friends of a friend, but this was a complete stranger I was welcoming into my home. The same girl who gets scared when someone knocks on the door in the U.S when not expecting anyone, the girl who doesn’t answer the phone to unknown numbers, the girl who can’t watch a scary movie without tearing up out of fear said yes to this whole situation!
It takes a lot to leave your familiar, comfortable life at home to venture off into the world. With my two suitcases and passport in hand, I was ready to leave my life at home for something new. I thought I was doing something bold, but in comparison to this guy, my move was easy to say the least. All this guy had was a backpack and his bike and to keep him off the streets at night, he has been depending on the kindness of human beings. I get nervous just asking for directions—I can’t imagine asking to stay at someone’s place for a night! Imagine the language barriers, strange people, horrible weather, and lonely nights he must have overcome to continue his journey all the way back to Belgium. I’ve mentioned this before in other posts, but while you learn from people you have known for years, you can also take away something from people you meet for just a couple of days or even from someone you meet just in passing. Without intending to, he reminded me of the beauty in the simple things in life and to appreciate what we do have, and I will always remember that.
Yours truly,
TLT