https://padlet.com/pekin/Bookmarks Made with a lightning strike of genius en-us 2022-02-06 20:00:00 UTC 2025-09-25 12:56:44 UTC hello@padlet.com pekin https://padlet.com/pekin/Bookmarks/wish/2031809711 As I was walking around my neighborhood and exploring the Sagrada Familia area, I came across a small restaurant called Wiesbaden. A young woman, who looked around my age, was standing outside the restaurant alone. I too, being alone and feeling apprehensive, decided she would be a good person to approach. The restaurant didn't look like anything fancy or special, and there was nobody really around here. Thus, I thought this was a perfect opportunity to ask her questions. I first said "hola" and introduced myself. I then asked her her name in Spanish and where she was from. She said her name was Elana and she too, was studying abroad, but from Israel. I immediately felt comforted yet surprised by the fact that we had something in common and that she spoke English too. Instantly we connected and engaged in conversation. We discovered after more conversing that we were both Jewish. I asked her what she was doing alone at a restaurant for dinner, and she said that she wanted to explore on her own and felt that she needed some space away from her roommates and friends. She then invited me to sit and have dinner with her. I learned so much from her about her life in Israel, and her motivations and goals while being abroad. As we were both raised Jewish, I learned from her that we actually shared a lot of cultural similarities and traditions. This assignment turned out to be a blessing in disguise for me. I randomly met someone on the street who turned out to be an abroad student in the same position as me but from a different country. After we finished dinner, we exchanged numbers and told each other we would make plans again soon to meet up. ]]> 2022-02-06 20:28:10 UTC https://padlet.com/pekin/Bookmarks/wish/2031809711