I am not sure which story to share first.....I have so much to tell today. Well, let me take you 10 years back in time. I was in Eritrea in Eastern Africa for the first time, and one Sunday morning I was out walking alone in Asmara. There were not many Europeans around, and my white skin felt very visible. During my walk a young man came up to me; "Hey mam, do you want a cup of coffee. I know a nice place".
For 10 years I've regretted my negative answer to the young man. A series of thoughts floated through my mind after his invitation was said, the main one.......stay away from male strangers!
For 10 years I have carried with me a lost opportunity. A stranger is a friend you don't yet know. I wonder if I missed the opportunity to be given a new friend that day.
Since then I've learned to meet strangers with an open mind and I now have dear friends from around the world. And I know there are friends to be, still waiting..........some day we'll meet and friendships will start to bloom.
Do you remember this door? I posted it a few weeks ago, and at the end of the post I had a challenge in Norwegian: if anyone could tell me the name of the small street where I found this door, I would take him or her to Bella Bulldog for a cup of coffee.
No suggestions came and I almost forgot about it. Then one day one of our pastors and a reader of my blog came to our office. "Have you got any street names yet?" she asked. "No, not yet. Do you want a cup of coffee? Well, then tell me the name" I replied, and once again I linked my blogpost to facebook and twitter.
Then a comment came, from an unknown man, with the right street name!
So what could I do? I was so sure that the commenter would be someone I knew. This was a total stranger. A word is a word though, isn't it? We emailed a little back and forth, and decided a time to meet on Bella Bulldog. Terje looked at me, just shaking his head in disbelief, I could read his thoughts painted on his face "what is my crazy wife up to now.....".....well, he should know me by now. At work my colleagues laughed, Britt-Arnhild still going strong!
Yesterday I met my "commenter" at Bella Bulldog. We ordered coffee, well, I ordered, we had pastries, and we talked. What a nice afternoon.
Have you ever tried doing something unexpected? Are you ready to change your palette?
I will not keep on regretting my "no" in Asmara 10 years ago. Without the no I would not have learned the important lesson - a stranger is a friend you don't yet know.
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Thank you Steinar for a nice afternoon.
