The other day in conversation someone mentioned something about a Fijian family and I mentioned that I have met people from many countries in the world but never met someone from Fiji.
Well, just the other weekend (last weekend) I met a couple from Fiji while they where visiting the pyramids in Cairo. Not a pleasant experience as the guy broke my camera (not the working parts but the exterior of it) then his wife posed for a picture in front of some camels and their elderly handlers. The couple refused to give the guys a tip although it was clear the old guys expected a tip.
Ok that experience is not reflective of Fijians and our conversation was rather brief. Anyway at the airport (out of boredom) I wrote a list of the different countries from which I have met people through work, school, travel and the places I have lived. The conversation with the Fijians being the briefest, I realized I am very lucky.
Here is the list of the different countries from which I have met people (and had conversations with, etc. etc.) – anyone who knows me knows that I ask a million questions about everything!
Not to offend anyone I am listing them in the order I remember based on “geographical” location;
1. Canada
2. USA
3. Mexico
4. Guatemala
5. Belize
6. Honduras
7. El Salvador
8. Nicaragua
9. Costa Rica
10. Panama
11. Colombia
12. Venezuela
13. Ecuador
14. Guyana
15. Brazil
16. Peru
17. Bolivia
18. Chile
19. Uruguay
20. Paraguay
21. Argentina
22. Haiti
23. Puerto Rico
24. Dominican Republic
25. Jamaica
26. Trinidad and Tobago
27. Nevis & Coicos
28. St. Croix
29. Bermuda
30. Ireland
31. England
32. Portugal
33. Spain
34. France
35. Netherlands
36. Scotland
37. Wales
38. Austria
39. Germany
40. Greece
41. Turkey
42. Bulgaria
43. Albania
44. Poland
45. Czech Republic
46. Slovakia
47. Bosnia
48. Yugoslavia (former)
49. Ukraine
50. Russia
51. Georgia
52. Palestine
53. Lebanon
54. Israel
55. Jordan
56. Syria
57. Iraq
58. Iran
59. Afghanistan
60. South Africa
61. Namibia
62. Ethiopia
63. Ghana
64. Zimbabwe
65. Algeria
66. Algiers
67. Egypt
68. Philippines
69. Armenia
70. Vietnam
71. Singapore
72. China
73. Japan
74. Taiwan
75. New Zealand
76. Australia
77. Fiji (see above)
78. Switzerland
79. Belgium
80. Finland
81. India
82. Pakistan
83. Bangladesh
84. Nepal
85. Mauritius
86. Serbia
87. Sri Lanka
88. Ivory Coast
89. Brooklyn
90. Cuba
91. Sweden
92. South Korea
93. Romania
94. Thailand
95. ****
**** I’ve met the King of Chad but since neither he nor I speak Chadian I did not include it.
Of all the meetings/conversations/friendships from all the above nations the one I wonder most about was the first Afghanistan I met. He was a taxi driver in New York City, after the demolition of the Buddha statutes by the Taliban and very shortly before 9/11. I had just seen a report about the Taliban, etc. and when he spoke to him in the cab he explained a little bit about the Taliban. He thought the Taliban were “good” because they kept some order and kept the war lords in check. He was a student in computer science working on a master’s degree and driving a cab to make ends meet. Shortly afterwards 9/11 took place and I wander what happened to him.
Anyway, I think it’s a good thing that a single person can meet so many people in a short time (and I am not a friendly person – believe you me).
And the point of my post is