Ontmoetingen
Echte momenten tussen mensen die in het buitenland wonen: een vreemde die hielp, een vriend die je uit het oog verloor, iemand die je graag had aangesproken.
Keep going, I said, and you did
You were throwing a blue frisbee to a dog in Pole Mokotowskie on Sunday afternoon and every time the dog caught it you bowed to the whole field like it was a show. I was on a blanket with a book, pretending to read. On the tenth catch the frisbee landed on my blanket. You came to get it. You said, sorry. I said, keep g...
Een toevallige ontmoetingNow we eat, said the woman who also missed the ferry
The ferry left Thong Sala pier twenty minutes early and I stood on the boards with my bag, watching it go. A woman next to me, also left behind, said, okay, now we eat. We got fried rice from a cart and sat on the pier steps until the late boat, sharing one fork, because the cart had one. The rice was not that good. I...
Dank je welI made the ferry at Nathon pier because a worker carried my suitcase
I ran down the boards at Nathon pier on a Friday afternoon with a suitcase and a very tight bus connection, and the ferry worker saw me from the ramp. He held up one hand to the crew, picked up the end of my suitcase, and walked me on. I made the boat by about ten seconds. He did not wait for thanks. He was already loo...
Uit het oog verlorenIf you come back to the Mekong steps in Luang Prabang, I will bring mangoes
I was sitting on the steps by the Mekong riverfront one October afternoon at five, holding a bag of mangoes I could not finish, when two of you rode up on borrowed bicycles. You took half. We sat there until the light went orange and swapped bad jokes in three languages. One of you said, this is the best mango of the t...
Gemiste ontmoetingYour very small dog approved of my jogging
You were walking a very small dog in a very small jacket along Dubai Marina Walk at 7pm and the dog was clearly the one in charge. I was jogging badly past with a water bottle. The dog stopped dead in front of me, looked up, and decided I was acceptable. You apologised. I said, do not. We both ended up laughing next to...
Gemiste ontmoetingI lost a sandal in the waves and a pink bicycle brought it back
Early one morning on My Khe Beach I lost a sandal in the waves and was hopping along the sand looking for it. You were riding a pink bicycle along the water's edge, stopped, picked up a sandal that was not mine, then another one that was, and handed it over with a very serious face. Then you rode on. I put it on. It wa...
Gemiste ontmoetingYou slowed down for a few steps and we ran side by side
On the second lap by the lake in Lumphini Park at 6am, you passed me in green headphones and slowed down for exactly three steps, so that we ran side by side, then sped up again like it was a polite joke. I was the one in the grey shirt trying not to die. I have run the park every morning since, hoping for another thre...
Gemiste ontmoetingAgain, 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...
Gemiste ontmoeting"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...
Gemiste ontmoetingDear 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....
Gemiste ontmoetingLeft, 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...
Gemiste ontmoetingWho 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...
Gemiste ontmoeting"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...
Gemiste ontmoetingDid 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...
Gemiste ontmoetingNice 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...
Gemiste ontmoetingWe 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...
Gemiste ontmoetingThanks 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...
Gemiste ontmoetingGood 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,...
Gemiste ontmoetingWho 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...
Gemiste ontmoetingDid 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...
Gemiste ontmoetingThe 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....
Gemiste ontmoetingThe 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...
Gemiste ontmoetingDid 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...
Gemiste ontmoetingWhich 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...
