As much as I love my fellow American (for the most part) I don’t want to meet you on vacation. I travel to get away from you, and if I do I am not talking about anything happening in the US. It was my second to last night in Quepos and as always I just picked a place and went in, I wanted a good steak and I found it. It wasn’t to far down from the hostel and that was very convenient. The place was about half full with a live band and to my surprise they were in the middle of singing the Stevie Wonder classic ‘Superstition’ a perfect way to start my night, right – wrong!!
The seats were rows and rows of picnic tables except for a few individual tables. Once I settled the table next to me asked where I was from and when I told them Boston it was on. ‘Home of the cheating New England Patriots’ one of the man said – (no hello or nice to meet you they cut right to the chase) ‘excuse me?’ ‘The Patriots cheat!’ And I’m thinking to myself – I am in Quepos, Costa Rica enjoying the music of Stevie Wonder on a perfect night and defending the Patriots, this just shouldn’t be I said to myself.
‘Why are we discussing this?’ I asked. ‘Because they have cheated themselves to every Super Bowl they’ve ever won, that’s why. ‘Ok you believe what you want, I disagree.’ I finally asked where were they from – ‘Oakland, California’ – home of the Raiders ‘when was the last time they won a Super Bowl?’ I believe it was 1984, right? A whopping twenty-nine years ago, with that they were in total silence – Now if you don’t mind I’d like to enjoy my steak and the music, nice talking with you.
———-
…the backseat of a Mercedes Benz E-Class
When I returned to Berlin in May of 2003 I went to see the musical ‘Les Miserables’ and I asked the concierge at the hotel if she could arrange transportation and just charge it my room. Once they called to let me know my car had arrived I exited expecting the hotel van or cab but even in my wildest dreams I never ever expected to see a black four door Mercedes Benz E-Class and my driver standing holding the door open. ‘Will this do Mr. Foster?’ the concierge asked. ‘Please call me Aron and HELL YES!!!!!!’ I gave her a bear hug and I was off.
Once I got in the car a bottle of champagne was on ice and it was opened before the engine even started and the glass was full soon after. Hernann was my driver for the night and we were off. I had never been in a Mercedes and I quickly saw why the world wanted to own one. I could’ve given up my room at the Radisson for one night in this car. The leather was softer than any I’d ever sat on in my life and the sound system was better than any stereo I ever owned. And when Hernann asked did I have a any requests ‘do you have any Tina Turner, and in the blink of eye ‘Let’s Stay Together’ was blasting as Hernann was driving like we were the only ones on the highway.
When we reached the theater he asked if I want to be dropped off at the corner ‘no take me right up to the entrance and drop me off.’ (I’m pretty sure the Germans weren’t expecting to see a black man get out of the Mercedes but these are those ‘once in a lifetime’ moments you must seize and that’s exactly what I did.) Once I emerged from the car I looked around, savored every moment and entered the theater.
Once the show ended and was back in the car Hernann asked ‘would you like to go back to the hotel Mr. Foster?’ I said not right away and to just drive around with no direction. Berlin is a beautiful city and illuminated at night it just glows. We stopped at the Spree River and I got out and just stared at the reflection of the Bode Museum and all the architecture that lined the river it so peaceful and tranquil. These are the moments that make working two jobs worth it because you never forget them, the tiny pieces of a journey, moments that are as vivid today as when you were experiencing them – standing on the Spree Rivera with a Mercedes E-Class, a bottle of champagne and my driver Hernann – unforgettable.
———-
…a rally for equal pay for women in Bogota
on the last day of my journey to Bogota in 2015 the final place I wanted to see was Simon Boliviar Square and once I arrived I was greeted by, what appeared to be a march into the square. It was wall to wall people chanting in Spanish and the few people I asked spoke no English so I walked down into the crowd just looking around to see if I heard anyone speaking English and to my surprise I found a couple wearing ‘UMass Boston’ t-shirts. I approached them and they explained all that was going on. It was a rally for equal pay for women, this is something I never expected, I also never expected to make new friends that took me too lunch.
Their son was a student at UMass Boston, they’d even lived here for a few years until returning to Colombia and as the day went on I met more people. I met more people that spoke English on that day than I did in my two weeks in Colombia and a news crew approached me. Within seconds the camera was on me and I was being asked ‘how I felt about the rally?’ And fortunately my new found friend translated for me. ‘This is something I never expected see, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen it in the US so I am very impressed and admire all that is going on.’ ‘De donde esta – I know this question – Estoy de Boston es mi primero vacacione en Colombia.’ Yo amor tu ciudad, los personas, y cultura, comida y estilo de vida, mi amor, la estoy pasando bien.’
Once I finished my interview we went to lunch and continued conversation and getting to know each other more talking about life in Boston, Bogota and everything in between and when the check was put on the table before I could even reach for it my new friend already had his credit card out. How often do these moments happen on a journey? Where complete strangers become friends, you are interviewed by a Colombian news channel and someone else pays for your lunch. This what it’s all about, this is why I work the two jobs for moments like these. The unexpected moments that make a journey even more.
———-
I’d love to hear about moments in your journeys that were like none other, ones you never expected and new friends you made because of it. And as always thanks for ready.
AGF