A Good Day for Meeting New People

Yesterday was a rough day! I don't like it when people tell me "no" and unfortunately someone told me "no" yesterday. Things that could be easily accomplished back home can be frustratingly difficult here. But the silver lining was that I met some new people yesterday and witnessed an unusual act of kindness.

After school yesterday, I took my kids to McDonalds for a snack. I had already ordered when I realized I didn't have any Qatari Riyals (money). I had taken some money (US dollars) out of an ATM machine earlier for my trip to Ethiopia. This McDonalds takes US dollars, but couldn't take a $100. I walked to the nearby ATM to get some Qatari money and discovered I had withdrawn the maximum amount for the day. I couldn't get any more money. I had mentioned to the guy behind me that I had already ordered the food at McDonalds and he and his friend witnessed me unable to get money. I walked back over to McDonalds and was trying to get the girl to take my $100 bill which is equal to 363 Riyals and she just didn't have the change. Frustrated, I turned to find the stranger from the ATM machine behind me and offering to pay for our food. His name is Juliene (pronounced Yuliene) and he is from Romania. I hope our family can take him out to dinner one day and if not I am determined to pay his kindness forward.

Thanks, Juliene.