About him: Paul, who goes by Pabloski because he is half Mexican and half Polish (Pablo-ski get it?), manages Funky Cycle, a rickshaw business in Barcelona. He has been living in Spain for about 16 years now, and his hidden talent is guessing what country people are from. How we met: My friend, Kristi, is visiting…
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When It’s Not All Fine and Dandy
I thought it would be dishonest to pretend like everything is sunshine and butterflies when you’re a woman traveling alone, so I decided that I had to share a moment that was unpleasant and in all honestly, a little scary. I believe that people are good, I genuinely do. But, I’m also not naive and I…
Read MoreConversations with Strangers: Daniel from Araçatuba, Brazil
About him: Daniel is originally from Brazil, but has lived in the Netherlands for the last eight years. He has a background in engineering, used to participate in rally race-car events and knows a surprising amount about astrology. When we were discussing what I wanted to do with my life, he gave me a great piece of…
Read MoreConversations with Strangers: The Strangest Stranger
About him: Mystery man was very unassuming: a standard tall american white male; quiet and North Face clad. Once we started talking, I quickly realized that I had stumbled upon a truly fascinating man. Mystery man was originally from the States, but had been residing in Dubai for the last ten years. He had lived in Afghanistan working with military…
Read MoreConservations with Strangers: Huseyin from Istanbul
How we met: I was strolling through the Grand Bazaar when Huseyin approached me and invited me into his handbag shop for rose tea. He was very helpful in giving me advice on how to haggle and find the best quality products in the bazaar, but I’m also sure he was trying to schmooze his way into…
Read MoreConservations with Strangers: Juan from Barcelona
How we met: Juan and I met while boarding our flight to Istanbul Thursday night. We ended up sitting in the same row in window seats on opposite sides of the plane and insisted on obnoxiously yelling to each other in Spanish across the aisle for most of the flight. Needless to say, the other…
Read MoreConversations with Strangers: Jenica from Johannesburg
How we met: Jenica and I sat across from each other on a 5 am train to the airport in London and immediately started chatting. We talked about travel, how I would make the world’s worst spy and how many camels I would sell for in Africa. If you’re following the Conversations with Strangers posts, you know that…
Read MoreConversations with Strangers: Renean from South Africa
How we met: Long story short, I moved into my apartment a little early and my new room was occupied by a wonderful girl from The Netherlands who had her friend visiting. Basically, Renean and I got to be roommates for a whole three days. About him: Renean is South African, but resides in The Netherlands. He speaks fluent…
Read MoreConversations with Strangers: Kyle from Boston
How we met: I met Kyle and his buddies, Alex and Ned, while waiting for the metro. They were speaking English, and being an English speaker myself, I decided we had enough in common to become friends. We spent the rest of the night bar hopping and I am most definitely still feeling the remnants of…
Read MoreConversations with Strangers: Chris from Brisbane
How we met: I really wish I could make up an exciting story (preferably involving a Vespa and a sunset), but I am a terrible liar and we met on Tinder. I refused to meet him at first because I am convinced that as wonderful and attractive Australians are, they are also heart-breakers and should be avoided…
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