Smiles

I have yet to find a better way to get to know a new city than to go for a walk. Monday morning I was meeting a group of girls from work for a cup of coffee (or chai as the case may be). My bus arrived twenty minutes early however (I still haven't mastered the public transport system here). So, I decided to take a walk down Park Ave. Ten minutes up one side of the street and ten minutes back down the other side.

On the walk, not only did I learn about the shops on the street, but I learned about the people who shop along the street. Often I hear people come back from visiting a new town and say “Oh everyone was so nice!” when the only people they talked to were hotel and store employees who are payed to be pleasant to tourists. Random people on the street are a far better indication of a town's personality.

As I walked, not only did shopkeepers smile and wave from behind their windows, but passersby took the time to smile and say hello. Moms pushing strollers nodded and smiled, a group of five or six old men outside a coffee shop said good morning one by one. And a funny man said “Hey there [pause] snuggle bug, how ya doin'?” to which I giggled and continued on.

I was thoroughly impressed with how cordial everyone was. It made me feel comfortable asking a stranger for directions and confident I would be greeted with a smile and a helping hand.

Well, I finally made my way back to the coffee shop where I was greet by Alison saying “Well, lets get some coffee & then you have to tell us your life's story!” It turned out to be a wonderful morning of chit-chat and “choco-chai” followed by sunny wait on a bus bench that gave me the time to write this.

Hope your new year is off to a great start & I'm off to another evening at Angela's.