A warm late summers day greeted us as our cruise ship glided into Noumea Harbour. We celebrated our good fortune as the previous cruise missed this beautiful South Pacific destination due to Cyclone Gabrielle. Yet here we were a week later able to experience this magical port of call. We disembarked and took the quaint open train ride called the Tchoo Tchoo through the city to the tourist coastal strip of Lemon Bay Beach “Baie des Citrons.”
After a coastal walk and changing into our bathers we were ready for a swim. The water was refreshing as we entered and while I swam along the calm waters of the bay my husband ventured further out to a pontoon. As I took breaks in my swim I could hear the beautiful sound of groups of French women in conversation as they exercised together in the water nearby. I’d learnt French at high school but now had little comprehension or fluency in the language.
After some time a lovely French woman in her late seventies spoke to me. A phrase which I understood was to acknowledge the beautiful weather. So I repeated it to her. She then continued a conversation in French before quickly realising I didn’t speak the language. Then an amazing thing happened. In her rudimentary English she began to speak again. ‘You are a good swimmer’ she said.
Slowly our conversation evolved and I found out she was a well-travelled woman who lived in the apartments nearby. She had spent time living in Sydney, Australia and had fond memories of her time there. Unfortunately, she has a husband who is now disabled so travelling was no longer an option for them as a couple. She apologised for her basic English but told me she enjoys reading in the language. She has also recently been learning Japanese. Our animated conversation continued as we floated in the water. It came to a natural conclusion as we both said goodbye and began swimming in opposite directions.
As I look back on that day this random encounter was one of the highlights. I enjoyed the conversation with this woman. While we spoke different languages we had commonalities in our lives. Touchpoints of shared experience and empathy.
It is the lives we encounter that make life worth living’
Guy de Maupassant (Writer 1850-1893)
Life often feels very ‘run of the mill’ with our usual routines and daily chores to frame it. Yet it is in the random moments of connection that we can truly enrich each other’s lives. Sharing our stories with each other. When we keep mindful of opportunities to strike up conversations with others, particularly when travelling, we can enhance our experience.
I don’t expect to see this lovely French woman again. Yet I hold the memories of our conversation within me. This chance encounter wasn’t planned yet it warmed my heart to have a conversation with a local in her everyday life.
Stay mindful to the possibility of conversations with others. When we are travelling we often have the luxury of slowing down the pace of our day to make way for the possibility of a chance encounter with a local. The key is to stay open to the same experience in our everyday life.