Yesterday I was trying to take the train to Faro to meet a jewelry designer, Filmeno. It was my first time taking the train here so I decided to trust google maps to find the station. I've been in town a week and have figured out daily life things pretty well despite my lack of Portuguese, until yesterday. I followed all the google directions and ended up on a dead end street in the middle of nowhere and in order to take a right, as google suggested I would've had to climb over a 6 foot stone wall into someone's front yard and climb down a hillside. Whoops! The train station was actually on the other side of town and there was so way to make the train time. I decided to be flexible and enjoy the chance to walk around a different part of town. I started taking any random street and happened upon an older woman surrounded by grocery bags yelling at a front door. As I got closer she started yelling at me in Portuguese, all I understood was something about not being able to get into her house. I didn't know what to do (or how to get away) so I just started speaking to her in Spanish. I was asking her if anyone was home, anyone to call...all the questions just led to more distress so I took her key out of her hand to try the door. The door opened on the first try. She stopped talking immediately, grabbed my face with two hands and gave me a passionate kiss on each cheek. I said "de nada" and turned to walk away (glad to have escaped relatively unharmed. ha ha!) just as her son was coming to help. She told him "oh never mind!! the little spanish girl helped her."
You can't worry about plans when you travel, things will either happen or they won't. When things don't work out there's always some sweetness or a moment of connect that help you let go of expectations and just be present.
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