Human Connections
Real moments between people living abroad: a stranger who helped, a friend you lost touch with, someone you wish you had spoken to.
Again, you said, and I said it back on the Corniche
We were walking in opposite directions on the Corniche at 6.30am, before the heat, and kept passing each other, three times in a row, because the path loops. On the third pass you grinned and said, again. I said, again. We have not met since. I walk the same loop at the same time on Thursdays, in case. It has been five...
Missed connection"Still dry" you said, looking at the clouds on the Campuhan Ridge Walk
We passed three times on the Campuhan Ridge Walk at 6.15am, you walking out and me walking back, because I forgot my water, went to buy one, and returned. Each time you were holding a folded rain poncho and looking at the clouds like you were making a decision. On the third pass you said, still dry. I said, I know. The...
Missed connectionDear sunflowers, you took up half the tram
You got on the tram near the Plaza de España at 4.15 holding a bunch of sunflowers so big you had to turn sideways to fit through the door. I was in the seat by the window, trying not to laugh. You sat down, the sunflowers took up half the carriage, and everyone made room without a word. A man handed you a rubber band....
Missed connectionLeft, left, then straight, you said without looking up
I had a paper map and no idea which way the river was, in a lane off Psar Chas Old Market on a Friday around 5pm. You were folding a blue krama on a plastic stool and, without a word, pointed with your chin. I frowned. You held up two fingers and said, left, left, then straight. I walked for exactly ten minutes. The ri...
Missed connectionWho led a lost stranger out of the rice fields near Berawa on a scooter?
My phone was dead and I was lost on a dirt lane near Berawa on Sunday morning, staring at a rice field like it owed me directions. You came past on an orange scooter, slowed, and held up your phone so I could see the map. Then you turned around and led me, at about fifteen kilometers an hour, all the way to the main ro...
Missed connection"Take one," you said, and held out a fish at the pier
I went down to the pier at El Muelle early to watch the boats come in, and you were standing on the boards with an orange bucket of fish, bargaining with several people at once and laughing. I bought nothing. I just stood there. You looked at me and said, take one, so I did. It was the freshest fish I have ever held. I...
Missed connectionDid the bell help you with the crossword in the Jardin Principal?
You were sitting on the bench across from me in the Jardin Principal on Tuesday morning doing a crossword in pen, and every time a bell rang from the Parroquia you looked up like you were being asked a question. I was the one with a coffee going cold. I wanted to give you a word. I had none. At the third bell you fille...
Missed connectionNice coconut, you said, and rode off on a yellow bicycle
I was crossing the road in Aldea Zama on a Wednesday morning, holding a coconut with a straw and trying not to spill it. You rode past on a yellow bicycle and said, nice coconut. Just that. I said, thanks. You laughed and turned the corner. It is a small thing, but nobody had said anything nice about my choices for day...
Missed connectionWe both held our lanterns over the crowd on the Covered Bridge
A tour group arrived on the Japanese Covered Bridge around 5pm when we were both in the middle, you holding a paper lantern over your head so it would not get crushed. I held mine up too. For about a minute we were two people with glowing paper above the crowd, trying not to laugh. Then the crowd moved and you were gon...
Missed connectionThanks for the coffee you left halfway between us on the sand
I was the only person on El Zonte beach before sunrise, and you walked out of the dark with a surfboard under one arm and a thermos in your hand. You sat ten meters from me, poured two cups, set one on the sand halfway between us, and went back to staring at the waves. I drank it. We never spoke. It is the best coffee...
Missed connectionGood luck with the monster, good luck with the oranges
We were both going the wrong way down the same pavement in Roma Norte on Saturday, you with a canvas tote full of oranges and me carrying a very large plant I had just bought. We met in the middle and did the thing where both people go left, then both go right, three times. You said, good luck with the monster. I said,...
Missed connectionWho cycles through Tamarindo with a guitar on their back and a very slow dog?
You were cycling down the main road in Tamarindo at 8am with a guitar strapped to your back and a very slow dog trotting beside you, and I was in a taxi stuck in the usual traffic, watching you overtake everyone. At the jam near the roundabout you looked in my window, grinned, and held up the guitar like a trophy. The...
Missed connectionDid a surfer with a red board bag push a truck out of the sand near Playa Guiones?
My rental truck was stuck in soft sand near Playa Guiones at noon and I was digging with a flip flop. Someone walked by with a red surfboard bag. You looked at the truck, looked at the flip flop, and ran off. Five minutes later you came back with a piece of wood and two friends. We pushed for eleven minutes. The truck...
Missed connectionThe pelican turned down every fry at Ocean Beach Pier
You were sitting on the edge at the end of Ocean Beach Pier at sunset with a paper cone of fries and a very serious look, throwing a fry at a time to a pelican that clearly did not want them. I was ten feet away with a surfboard that had not seen water in three weeks. The pelican looked at you, looked at me, and left....
Missed connectionThe coffee you handed me because she was clearly not coming
It was a minus twelve morning outside a cafe in Kensington, and you were holding two coffees and looking down the street like you were waiting for someone who was late. I walked past three times. On the fourth you handed me one of the coffees and said, keep it, she is clearly not coming. I have decided that was the nic...
Missed connectionDid you really paddle down a flooded Montrose street with a canoe paddle?
The street in Montrose flooded after the afternoon storm on Thursday and you came out onto your porch with an actual canoe paddle and a very serious face. You stepped into the water, ankle deep, and paddled with great dignity for about ten feet. Then you looked up and saw me watching. You bowed. I bowed. The water kept...
Missed connectionWhich language comes after bonjour?
You were carrying a green surfboard across the plaza in Sayulita at noon on Sunday, and every time someone said hola you answered in a different language. I counted four. I was on the curb with a coconut, making a game of it. On the fifth hello you looked straight at me and said, bonjour. I said, hola. You laughed and...
Missed connectionDear blue kite, you were right to keep trying
I was on a bench by the lake in Piedmont Park with a sandwich when you came running across the grass with a blue kite that refused to leave the ground, and every time it dropped you started again with the same look of complete commitment. I was rooting for the kite. On the fifth try it finally caught the wind. You shou...
Missed connectionThe bagels were fine, you called up from the red scooter
In the first warm week of April in Mile End you rode past on a red kick scooter with a paper bag of bagels in the basket, and every time you went over a bump a bagel fell out and you stopped and put it back. I counted four stops. I was on a balcony with a coffee, wholly invested. You waved. I waved. The bagels were fin...
Missed connection"That is the best blue I have seen all week," you said to my hands
I was walking home on Calle Loiza in the evening with paint all over my hands from a mural job when you stopped, looked at the color, and said, that is the best blue I have seen all week. You were wearing a guayabera of the same blue. We stood there like two people proving a point. Then you went to catch a bus and I di...
Missed connectionUpdate on your forecast, paddle boarder: it was a great week
You came out of the water at Medano Beach early one morning with a paddle board under one arm and a shirt so loud I could hear it from my towel. You looked up at the sun, then at me, and said, it is going to be a great day. You said it like you meant it, to a stranger. I have thought about that sentence more than the s...
Missed connectionYou told me to give up on my poncho and stand in the rain
The rain began on the Malecon at 8pm, and you stood next to a sculpture and let it fall on you. I was fighting a plastic poncho that kept blowing up over my face. You looked at me, laughed, and said, give up. I put it in a bin and we stood in the rain together for a whole minute, saying nothing. Then your bus came and...
Missed connectionYou pulled me back from a golf cart and walked off with a red towel
I was crossing the road near Playa Norte when a golf cart came around the corner too fast, and you grabbed my arm and pulled me back. Then you looked mortified, said sorry in two languages, and walked off with your red towel. I should have thanked you instead of standing there. The cart did not even honk. I think about...
Missed connectionDear hat full of water, you made my commute
The Dartmouth ferry was in a downpour at 8.10 on Tuesday morning. You rolled your bicycle on board wearing a hat that was completely full of water, then took it off and poured it over the side like it was nothing. I was by the window with a coffee, applauding in my head. You caught my eye and shrugged. Best morning com...
