Once upon a time

Our exchange student went home yesterday. We are all sad, but happy for J and his family to be reunited. Seven weeks is a long time to be away from home.

I found a post I made about my semester abroad on Facebook and I decided to expand it and repost it here. Go see the world y’all. It won’t disappoint you, I promise.

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Once upon a time, a long time ago (Fall of 1996), in a country far, far away (Vienna, Austria), a 20 year old Southern American girl took her big friendly smile across the pond determined to take Europe by storm. Well, it didn’t happen quite like that, but smiling helped a great deal. Even with my travel anxiety, I hopped on trains for long weekends and trusted in total strangers and believed that I was mostly immune to danger (other than pick pockets and lecherous, tiresome men, I was). No iphone. No internet. Just pay phones, my Let’s Go Europe Guide, a train schedule, and Jesus. I was braver then.

One thing I learned then that is still true for me today is that people are people and most people are good. I met so many angels unawares. I had the good fortune of always being helped, provided hospitality, or just plain talked to. Everywhere. I have a story for every stop along the way. It sounds rather Bohemian, but I assure you, I’m a safety girl, so I was choosy about my company. Even if we were only pilgrims for a few hours, I always made a friend—in airports, taxis, on trains, buses, in queues, in restaurants, hostels, hotels, and churches. I fell in with random groups of 20-somethings and roamed wherever. Grown up strangers gave warnings, directions, food and shelter. Friends of friends took me in for the day or night just because. I am so thankful that my belief in the goodness of people was affirmed. I still believe it.

The next summer, I moved to Germany to work. Again, so many people loved me through it. I made some good friends who were so very tolerant of me. I do not know where they all are now, but I love them just the same. People and people, and people are good.

Flood, fire, famine, fatigue—the world is a mess. But, if you look for it, you’ll find people just like you going around doing the next right thing, like helping a well-meaning, but clueless stranger in a foreign land find her way.

When I get gloomy about the state of the world,
I think of the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport….
If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion—
love is actually all around.

Opening monologue from the movie, “Love Actually”.

Love Y’all, Marla