#ngenuous

[areweallstrangers]

Andrew

I met him in the hostel during my brief stay in Chicago. To be honest, I approached him because he was the only other Asian person in the hostel. I’m glad I did because I ended up spending most of my trip with him. We talked about our careers a lot. He bounced around a bit between majors in college before deciding to pursue the medical field. “I never thought about going to med school, but then my dad got sick with cancer. I had to take him to the doctor many times over the years, and that opened my eyes to the profession. I saw how invested he was in my dad. I decided to go into the medical field because I want to develop those long-term relationships with my patients and see them progress over time.” I’ve been struggling recently with finding out what I love to do, but meeting Andrew gives me some comfort in knowing that this spark of passion could come at any time. Just be ready to go after it when it comes.

5.4.16 NV

[areweallstrangers]

Ramonia

Ramonia was my first Lyft driver in Chicago. She was born and raised in Chicago and has been driving passengers for over a year now. I always ask my drivers if they have any interesting stories of passengers they wanna share. “I had a passenger the other weekend who asked me to be his private driver for the weekend. I was so shocked I didn’t know how to react but I told him I don’t think Lyft would let me do that.” I asked why she didn’t just take the money and drive him around privately. “Good point. I will keep that in mind for next time haha. I was so flattered that I freaked out.” I asked her if she was a Cubs fan or a White Sox fan. “If you’re from the South, you’re a Sox fan. If you’re from the North, you follow the Cubs.” She also lives a few blocks from Obama’s house in Chicago. “I hate it. I hate it when he comes home because the Secret Service blocks off entire streets and I can’t even get into my own house.” I would hate that too.

5.2.16 NV

[areweallstrangers]

Jerry

It was my first time using the train in Chicago. I must have seemed lost because an elderly man asked me where I was headed. He was wearing a pink hat and a green backpack that was pulled tight to his back. We ended up getting off at the same stop, but I missed my transfer train so we started talking. “What are you doing in Chicago?” he asked. “There’s a bunch of white people here.” I told him it was an early birthday present to myself. I asked him what his favorite part about Chicago was. “I grew up in Chicago and live here now with my wife. My favorite part about this city are the parks. They’re beautiful. However the city is changing and not like it used to be. North Chicago is the rich side, and South side is the poor side. But the South is now changing and becoming more affluent, which is both a good and bad thing.” Gentrification is happening everywhere apparently. “It’s affecting our cities diversity and driving out all the people of color.” We started talking more, then I realized why he was so nice to me on the train. He adopted a Vietnamese son, who happened close to my age now. I asked if he was a part of the Vietnam War. “I fought against the war when I was a grad student. I was lucky I didn’t get drafted because I had poor eyesight.” He has a bucket list of places that he wants to visit with his wife before he gets too old to travel, which reminds me I need to start crossing off more items off mine. Thank you Jerry and your pink hat.

5.1.16 NV

[areweallstrangers]

Jeff

He sat next to me on my flight to Denver. He and his family were coming back home after a trip to San Francisco. I told him I live in Hayward, where there’s not much to do. “I used to live in Hayward. I live in a small town in Colorado now. You’re lucky you even have grocery stores. I have to drive 30 minutes to get groceries sometimes.” He took his kids to San Francisco because they don’t get to see the city often. I don’t know when I’ll have kids. “I was 27 when I had my first one.” Well that gives me two years.

5.3.16 NV

[areweallstrangers]

Nga

One of my favorite things to do is have meaningful conversations with strangers. Meet Nga. I met her at the swap meet today while I was looking for tshirts to buy. She has been living in the islands since ‘93 when she moved away from Vietnam following the war. She has two daughters in San Jose, but she lives in Hawaii. I asked her why she likes Hawaii, and she said that she’s just used to it. I told her a little bit about my family before I continued my shopping. I went back and forth a few times and each time I would talk to her for a bit. When I had to finally leave, she told me in Viet that it was a joy talking to me. It’s a small gesture but I could tell by her smile that the conversation meant a lot to her. She probably sees hundreds of customers each day, but how many actually stop and talk to her. She reminded me how fortunate I am to have parents who gave up so much for me. Very humbling experience.

[areweallstrangers]

Kim

I had just started work a few months ago, and I always noticed this middle-aged lady that would smile when she passed by anyone. We crossed paths many, many times but we never actually spoke a word to each other. One day I approached her and started a conversation before realizing she was also Vietnamese. From then, we would speak Viet each time we ran into each other in the cafeteria. Some people’s smiles are more contagious than others, and not once did she fail to put one on my face. Bad timing though, I found out she had to transfer to a different building miles away. I heard her coworkers were throwing her a goodbye party, so I paused work and rushed down to say goodbye. Some people come into your life for a very short period of time, but they make you realize some important things. Kim has encouraged me to always stay kind.

[areweallstrangers]

Andrew

I met Andrew on my walk to the gas station to grab some snacks. He was standing in the middle concrete lane divider with his dog, which I think was a German Shepherd mixed with something else (I only know two kinds of dogs: big and small.) He was asking stopped drivers for loose change. I had already made my way to the other side of the street, when I decided to cut back and talk to Andrew. I gestured him to follow me, and we headed back to the gas station. I told him to grab anything he wanted. He stood there and looked at me with a half grateful, half incredulous look on his face, but came back with a jug of water, a carton of milk, a cheeseburger, and some dog food. Then he approached me and softly asked, “Actually can I get two cheeseburgers?” That’s all he wanted, all he needed. It’s hard not to contrast this with today’s consumeristic society. Thank you Andrew.

[areweallstrangers]

Steven

The third stranger I met in Portland was Steven, and subsequently his 6 other friends. I was walking down the street with my camera out. I heard two guys yelling out from their car to me asking me to jump in their car. Most people’s first thoughts: wtf, serial killers, I’m gonna die. Me: holy shit this sounds fun. Turns out they were heading to an impromptu photo shoot and they asked me to join because they saw my camera. Only in Portland will you see this shit. When in Rome right? I hopped in. The two guys in the car apparently just met two weeks ago, but I could have sworn they were best friends. This is normal in Portland, I love it haha. Met up with 6 other random people that night and had a photoshoot around the city. (Also ran into Draymond Green that nightl). I wish more people would be like these guys. People think its weird to make friends with strangers these days, and I think that’s a complete shame. Steven told me if I ever needed a place to stay in Portland when I came back hit him up.