Chantal

September 2012, Thimphu, Bhutan

I cannot believe that it has been two years since I met her first.  We have exchanged a few emails since.  I met her on my first visit to Thimphu, Bhutan.  She was with a travel group.  We struck up a conversation right away.  She was warm and filled with joy.  Her english was so good and she had so many interesting things to share.

She asked me where I was from, and if I were a 'mixed' person.  Which always makes me say that most of us just look alike, we forget that.  There is not that much difference in the way people look between the extreme dark and light.  IN between many of us could pass for Italians, Mexicans, Brazilians, Columbians etc.  There has been enough mixing of people around.  And it will only continue.

She nodded.  She told me that she had been to India and that she was starting a bed and breakfast in her country--Italy.

I have not had the time to visit the country yet, and really want to go.

But the point of the post is that even though I met her only once and we talked for all of 20 minutes, I still remember her face, the warmth with which she took me.  And at the end of that short conversation extended an invitation to me---

You can come and be my guest!!  And I was a total stranger.

If I have learnt anything from my travel, that is that people are amazing, they have incredibly large hearts.  And media, instead of bringing us together does us a disservice by always focusing on the negative.

So, as we move into a new year, I wanted to put the picture of this lovely, warm woman on my blog to remind me how lucky I have been to meet grand hearts.  

And there is certainly many times more goodness in the world----than the opposite.

Thanks Chantal!!