Describe a random encounter with a stranger that stuck out positively to you.
During my five days stay in the Big Apple, I had the chance to encounter many people and see the amazing sights that New York has to offer.
I had the amazing opportunity to meet with Lady Liberty herself. She was, as always, standing at her feet greeting everyone who came to visit the big city. Underneath her protective wings, I had the chance to view the city as I had never seen it before. She also gave me the chance to meet new people and learn more about other cultures.
There was an afternoon that I probably will never forget. After strolling through the park in the morning, around noon I walked all the way from Central Park west to the Yankees Stadium. To finally see the stadium in all its glory was a wonderful experience. However, the best experience of my entire trip was on the way back to the park.
It was a bit later in the afternoon that I passed the brigadier general Charles Young playground. When I passed the playground I noticed that there was a local baseball game going on and I decided to take place at a bench and watch the game. One bench away from me, there was a group of older guys that were having fun with each other’s jokes. At first I found it a bit scary. These were the very first Americans that I encountered so far, and because I am from the other side of the world I was a bit nervous about this, not knowing what they would do to strangers.
It didn’t take long before one of those guys approached me and asked me where I was from. I told them that I am from a small country in Europe, called: Belgium. They didn’t had any idea of what country that was, so I tried to explain it to them in a way that most people know Belgium. Namely that we are famous for our fries, our chocolate and our beers. That didn’t ring a bell to them, so I decided to do a different approach and said: our most famous soccer players are Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne. That did ring a bell to them and we quickly became into a deeper conversation. They asked what I was doing all alone in the Big Apple, which I explained to them with saying that I was just staying here a week for sightseeing and experiencing the life in the United States.
It didn’t take long before the five of them accepted me as one of them and we talked all night about our different cultures and how we actually are not at all different from each other in any way possible. One of them said to me: “You being here all by yourself and exploring this big city proves to me that it doesn’t take much to make a difference in life. All it takes is the first step into freedom.” From that moment I realized that everywhere you go you have the chance to meet great people, all it takes for you is to take the first step.