Come Waste Your Time With Me

I met two lovely strangers over the weekend…

I decided to do a bit of exploring Abu Dhabi yesterday. I went to the famous Corniche beach and run for an hour. Well, I took a 10 minute break in between. 🙂 I was brisk walking to catch my breath when a woman approached me and said Hi. She’s a lovely woman named Jackie from London, almost the age of my grandmother. For some reason, she looked like Meryl Streep to me. She laughed so hard when I told her that and said it might be her hair.  She walked with me and told me her own expat life story. She shared that her daughter just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and she proudly showed me her photo.  She asked me if I run in the area often and I told her yesterday was my first time.  I told her I used to live in Dubai and have only been in Abu Dhabi for a few weeks. It’s funny when she said, “you look more of an Abu Dhabi kind of girl.” Hahaha 🙂 (I’m not sure what she meant by that but she said to take it as a compliment so I will) I was enjoying our conversation when she apologized for interrupting my afternoon run and said “sorry to waste your time”. I dismissed her immediately and told her that she wasn’t wasting my time at all! I’d like to hear more actually. But she had to go since it’s getting late and it’s playtime with her granddaughter. She bid goodbye but asked if I could meet her again next weekend. I guess, I’ve found a regular weekend date in Corniche. 🙂

On a different note, it’s a working Saturday for me today. I left home early planning to take the bus instead. (Still a part of my explore the city agenda) Besides, I have been spending a lot of money in cabs! I was waiting at the bus stop when a woman asked me if I was waiting for bus #32. She introduced herself as Nitin. She’s from Sri Lanka and has been in Abu Dhabi for 10 years now! Her original plan was to work here for 2 years but every time she goes home and see how much more money she can earn here, she’s always tempted to go back. She’s got twins who will turn 12 years old next month. She couldn’t believe how time flew by so fast and even gave me a piece of advice! Haha 🙂 According to Nitin, “Time is like your most favorite food, you only share it with people who are special to you.” I haven’t heard this one before but it made sense. Right? The bus arrived and I had to say goodbye to Nitin. I told her it was good talking to her and that it’s really nice of her to approach me. She smiled and said “you look kind, sorry to waste your time.” Just like Jackie from London yesterday, I immediately dismissed her and told her it was not a waste of time at all.

Sometimes, life has a funny way of sending you a message. It has its own way of sneaking up on you. Good things happen when you least expect them. Meeting nice people doesn’t happen everyday but I’m kind of lucky when it comes to this.  A stranger can inspire you at the most unexpected place and time. Meaningful conversations always draw me closer to a person. When I was a little girl, I used to dream of becoming a field reporter – interview people about their lives, listen to their stories and write about them. I guess, it ain’t too late.  It would be great to meet more lovely strangers like Jackie and Nitin in the future. If that’s what you call “wasting of time” then come waste your time with me.