Faith

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Originally uploaded by krpe.

If you ever need to renew your faith in humankind, TRAVEL. This picture shows a few of the things I received from friends and strangers along the way. People will always surprise you with their kindness, generosity and willingness to help. My revival began in Vancouver when Arti gave me Gnesh to remove obstacles from my path, and Karime gave me a Colombian bracelet. On the train to Chicago I met Les who gave me the blue carabiner that proved quite useful in attaching things to my pack and keeping the pack secure. In Ukraine, I got the frog from Slava and the t-shirt from Oleg. The t-shirt has me as Snow White surrounded by animals and dwarves with the faces of many of my Ukrainian friends. Eli and I combined our winnings from carnival games at Coney Island and got matching bracelets. I wore mine throughout the Americas. I'm still wearing the bracelet Lisa gave me in Bangkok and will wear it until Arti also comes home from Thailand. Perhaps even more surprising, though, are the small acts of kindness from strangers: the American couple in Prague who bought me a Coke on a hot day, the Ukrainians who kept me company on the walk from Prague castle, the Starbucks worker in Dubai who gave me a couple coins to remember the UAE, the Thai restaurant that gave us a cup of tea on a rainy night, the taxi driver in Peru who made sure we made it on the bus, and so many others. I feel like there's a world out there looking out for me. I once heard faith described as hope mixed with trust, and that's the kind of faith I have in people. I just needed a little reminder.