Stranded With A Stranger in Spain

Now don’t get me wrong there is nothing bad with talking to strangers. Well okay, there most definitely is, but when you have been living in a foreign country and you have been surrounded by people whom you don’t understand, you can get a little too excited when you hear a familiar sound.

“Hi, I’m sorry but can you take my picture?” A small Filipino woman wearing a white T-shirt under a crochet tank top and khakis asked, interrupting me, and my roommate Regina’s, conversation.

“Oh, yeah no problem,” Regina said and hopped up to photography the five-foot women. The women had a nice smile. Her face made her look as if she was around 36–38 years of age, however, her tiny physic made her seem in her 20's. She walked underneath a giant plastic air plane that was hung across the ceiling in the Valencia airport. It was around 5:30 in the afternoon and the sun casted an awkward shadow through the woman.

“This is great” the women said, “Thank you!”

Regina then handed her the cell phone and sat down next to me. The lady still looking at the picture grabbed her carry on, which was about half her size, followed behind Regina and sat directly across from us. A few seconds past and I heard a quiet mumbling coming from the woman. I looked up from my phone.

“You’re a journalist?” Regina asked. “Us too!”

“No, I’m journaling,” the woman laughed.

Regina and I just looked at each other.

Journaling? Is that even a word?

“What are you doing?” Regina asked.

“I am traveling Europe in 30 days,” the woman replied, “and visiting 20 different cities.”

Now 30 days and 20 different cities could spark a conversation with anyone. Regina began asking the lady about her trip and her travels. We discovered that her name was Hannah and she kept a Facebook blog about each city that she went to. Regina mentioned that we were study abroad students and that we were visiting Lisbon but had a 10-hour layover in the Madrid airport. The lady laughed and said that she knew because she was on the same flight.

Now, a 10-hour layover is a bit extreme for any traveler, however, Regina and I knew one of our classmates was also going to be in Madrid at the same time. A couple hours prior to our flight we had discussed meeting up and hanging out at his hotel.

“I’m just going to be hanging out with you girls then,” I heard Hannah say.

I looked at her and smiled. She seemed to be making a joke. Bring light to the fact that the layover was so extreme. When it was time to board, Hannah jumped up and waved, “See you when we land.”

Not thinking much of it Regina and I waved back to the harmless, five-foot woman and proceeded onto the plane. Once we got off our flight we walked toward the exit of the terminal. When we arrived, we were surprised to see Hannah standing and waiting for us. “So where are we off to ladies?”

Regina and I just stared at each other. Uhm we? After just meeting Hannah and not wanting to spend 10 hours with a stranger, it became our mission to find a way to escape from the airport. Maybe if we walked fast enough we could just lose her? We walked up and down the halls of the empty airport. There was nothing to do and no where to hide. Not even a single place to sit grab a drink, other than the vending machines.

Thirty minutes we walked around that airport with Hannah. And 30 minutes Hannah followed behind without saying one word. Regina and I hopelessly sat down at an empty table, in the deserted airport. Maybe being extremely boring will drive Hannah away?

The entire time spent with Hannah all she did was text and follow, like a lost dog looking for a new home. After sitting in silence for a while Regina and I made eye contact. It was time. I had just received a text from our friend telling us to meet him in Madrid. I stood up. Hannah copied. “Well… I think me and Regina are going to meet our friend at his hotel and stay there for a while”

I said. Feeling super awkward and having a bit of remorse. “Oh… like you guys are going to leave the airport?” Hannah asked.

“Yeah” Regina said, “but we will see you when we get back.”

We smiled and waved as we walked in the opposite direction as the stranger. Even though we could and didn’t want to stay, I felt bad. Ten hours later, when we arrived back at our loading gate. Regina and I looked for Hannah but didn’t see her. We assumed she got on the plane but never really knew for sure. I wonder if she were really able to complete her mission of 20 European cities in only 30 days?