by I was towards the end of a nine -week trip and traveled solo all over the world. After this long country I was only exhausted. When I went to the ATM to get money out, I made a critical mistake.
At home in Australia we take out the card and then get our money. In Argentina, where I was, it is the other way around – first your money comes out, then your card. So I put on my card, got my money and just went away and left my card behind.
I was already on the other side of the street when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and this hulcing Dutch guy gave me my bank card and told me I had forgotten it. I immediately broke out in tears, then thanked him strongly and tried to offer him a reward. He leaned politely and went away.
I was in a city named El Calafate and the next day I traveled to the Perito Moreno Glacier. There I saw him through the crowd – big Dutch are easy to see!
I ran for him to say: “Hey, you are the guy who gave my bank card back!” He didn’t really remember me because nobody was important in his life, but he was certainly important in mine. I said to him: “Look, I really want to give you something to thank you – how about if I shout a beer to you?”
Related: The friendliness of strangers: a woman I had never met, we heard flu and dropped a large pot of soup on our doorstep
He traveled with some friends, so we drank three in the small café and drank a beer. I was just so happy that I was able to thank this man – whose name, as I learned, was a beard – and gave him a little sign of my appreciation.
Bart thought what he had done was not a big deal, but for me it was. This was a different time for technology in 2009. If he hadn’t returned my card, I would have been in a big chaos. I only wore the one card that was a bit careless afterwards, but I had that.
If you are on the road with someone else, you can use your card for a while and refund you later. If you are alone, it’s a completely different situation. And every traveler knows that every problem on vacation feels extremely enlarged!
All of these years later I didn’t forget Bart’s act of friendliness. In the café we took a photo that I always kept.
What is the most beautiful thing that a stranger has ever done for you?
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