Zig Zag # 6

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just want to hear a good story that gives me the warm fuzzy feels. The kind of story that reminds you that there are good people in the world. The kind of story that reminds you that the universe is looking out for you. The kind of story that reminds you that it’s good to be pleasantly surprised by life sometimes.

This week, I needed to feel the warm fuzzy feels so I pulled into the way back from my collection of Zig Zag stories. I’ve told this story a couple of times on a few different platforms, but it never fails to make my heart smile.

The ways of how things should be done have never interested me much (duh, hence this whole zig zag concept). When it came down to making my decision where I would do my student teaching way back in the day, I had a choice between heading back to Pittsburgh (my hometown) or teaching in Norway.

For me, it was a no brainer. Norway or bust! I knew very little about Norway, it’s people, it’s culture or it’s language. The only thing I knew for sure: It was cold and dark for most of the year.

But I didn’t care how cold it was. I was studying overseas come hell or Viking high water. It was a secret promise I made to myself. This was it. Armed with two suitcases and a crazy sense of adventure, I made the 15 hour journey (with a few layovers in between) with hope in my heart.

If anything, I was the one who received an education more than any of my students I had the pleasure to teach. Norway pushed me to my edge. It opened my eyes to a whole world full of possibilities that I couldn’t even conceptualize before I stepped onto its frozen landscape.

From this time, I have so many stories I can share here, and maybe I will share more of those later down the line.

But today’s story happened toward the end of my stay overseas. It’s about paying it forward and the kindness of strangers.

Toward the end of our stay in Norway, my fellow student teaching buddy and I decided to get in one more trip. We wanted somewhere fun. So we picked Barcelona, Spain. We spent a week doing all the touristy things, taking advantage of siesta time and just plain having fun in a country that does so much to celebrate life.

What we didn’t realize was how tight we made our return back to Norway just before we were heading state-side. There was little wiggle room for delays. Just a minute too late, and we were going to miss one of our flights. And that is exactly what happened.

We flew from Barcelona to London. From London, we were to fly back to our home base of Trondheim. But we forgot to take into account how long it can be to get through customs. We missed our flight back to Norway by 5 minutes. So a very kind ticket agent helped us make arrangements to get back to Trondheim.

Eventually.

The flights from London to Trondheim were few and far between. Trondheim is a small coastal city that housed our host university: Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Not a whole lot of tourism travel was heading to Trondheim.

Our new plan: Stay at the London-Stansted airport for six hours. Then board a flight that took us to Oslo, Norway (6 hours south of Trondheim). THEN we could make it back to Trondheim on a flight early the next morning.

We were young and adventurous and there was really nothing we could do about our current circumstances. The only thing TO do was accept what was happening. So we found a smoothie cafe, a bookstore and a place for dinner and settled in. While we were waiting, we chatted up an Australian rockstar trying to make his own way back home. We had a bit in common. But he wasn’t the most compelling character on our journey…

By the time we boarded our flight to Oslo, we were exhausted, feeling gross and mentally preparing ourselves to sleep in the Oslo airport to wait for our flight to Trondheim. Don’t forget, we were poor college students who just had a great time in Spain. There was no way we could afford a hotel room in Oslo for the night.

I took the window seat so I wouldn’t slobber on anyone while I caught a bit of sleep. I was exhausted so I didn’t catch much of the conversation my student teacher buddy (who was generating some stellar middle seat karma, btw) was having with the older gentleman who took up the aisle seat.

Apparently, he was an older Norwegian business man who loved Americans (thank goodness). He was originally from Oslo. He had a wife and kids, but he travelled all over the world for business. He was returning home after one such trip.

We deplaned ready to sleep in the Oslo airport. We got this. This wasn’t the worst accommodation we had encountered in the past 4 months. The memory of a hostel in London still makes me shudder to this day. So a little airport sleeping wasn’t much of a stretch.

The older Norwegian man asked us what our plans were for the night. We skeptically looked at each other before my friend answered, “We’re sleeping in the airport. There’s no way we can afford a hotel room.”

He said he couldn’t let us do that.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m going to buy you a hotel room here in Oslo. There is a Marriott attached to the airport. You will not need transportation back so you won’t miss your flight tomorrow morning. Please let me do this for you.”

My friend was about to say an enthusiastic yes, when I gave a look. Despite my travel wariness, my spidey senses were now on high alert. This man was offering to buy us a hotel room. Part of me wanted to believe he was doing this out of the goodness of his heart. But there was another part of me that was thinking we needed to be cautious about this situation.

He led us to the hotel lobby from our gate.

“Look, I know this doesn’t look great. An older man buying a hotel room for two young American travelers. But I was you once. I am happy to do it...on one condition.”

Uh-oh. Here it comes. “On one condition” could mean anything. At this point, any number of pervy possibilities were running through my head.

“I’ll do this on the condition that you promise me that you will do this for other young travelers someday. That you pay it forward.”

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. THAT I could do.

We both smiled at each other and at him and agreed.

He paid for our room. We thanked him profusely. We parted ways. He was going home. We were going to our hotel room to take showers and remind ourselves to never take a shower and a warm bed for granted. We never saw him again.

This story has stuck with me after all this time. It reminds me of how powerful genuine kindness can be. It reminds me that there are good people in the world.

While I haven’t had the opportunity (yet) to make good on our promise to pay it forward in the exact same way the Norwegian business man asked us to, this story inspires me to do small things for people who would never expect it. On occasion, I’ll pay the tolls for the car behind me on the highway or I’ll give the drive-thru cashier at Starbucks $20, and tell her to pay for the next person’s coffee.

This story reminds me to show up better. To think of someone other than myself. To in turn, be a model of kindness toward someone else who might need it. To never underestimate how a small act of kindness can turn a life around.

You never know how you might be influencing those around you. I always want my default setting to be kindness. Always.

I wish you a Zig Zag kind of week. Until we meet again.