When my sweet cousin T. came out to meet me in Amsterdam we spent about 30 minutes missing each other because we didn’t talk about a meeting place and there were many options. One of the security guards made a phone call for me, people pointed out various options and finally my cousin was able to convince the folks in an Information Kiosk to make an intercom announcement for her lost cousin.
In Paris there was an interruption of Metro service and travelers had to make bus connections across various Metro lines in order to get back to the airport line. An elderly Danish Iranian man walked me through the various train off and on jumps over the next hour to get back to the main line, all the while telling me about his experience as a political refugee and now volunteer with a lobby group pressing for the release of Iranian political prisoners and for regime change.
Moving around in Freetown is all about using various taxi options and again there were always folks willing to go out their way to help with my bags, point me down a different street or make an effort to connect in some way. I met a lot of wonderfully helpful human beings in the last while and I am grateful. It gives me hope.