5 cents of Kindness in Finland

 

I was at the airport in Helsinki, Finland. The day started out difficult for me.  Just a few hours before, I had said goodbye to my very good friend who lived in Tampere, Finland.  It was very emotional for me to say goodbye as we both knew that we may not see each other for a long time because I live in Canada. To add to that, I had an early flight leaving Tampere so I did not sleep well the night before.

Little did I realize that I was about to become in so much more distress over something so small. When I got off the plane in Helsinki I had a layover and searched the airport for a place to fill my water bottle. I was very thirsty, and the tiredness was not helping my cognitive functioning. Unable to find a water fountain, I spotted a vending machine that had water for 2.50 euro. Thankfully, I counted out my change and I had exactly 2.50. I thought my problem was solved. It turns out it was not. Unfortunately, 5 cents of the coins that I had were 1 and 2 cent coins, so the vending machine took my 2.45 but not my remaining 5 cents.

So I asked the cafe staff nearby if they would take my 1 and 2 cent coins for 5 cents. The English of the staff was fair, and they denied my request. Quite desperate and frantic for water by this point, I went to a currency exchange and asked to trade my 20 euro bill for smaller bills or coins. The staff there also said no.  I was so determined to get the water from the vending machine that I failed to realize the cafe was most likely selling water, and I could have used my 20 euros to buy it.  However, had I bought water from the cafe, the story would not turn out to be quite so interesting. Frustrated, I sat down at a table near the cafe.

At this point, I do not recall showing any sign of distress to the people around me.  A few moments after I sat down, however, a woman approached me, and our interaction was as follows: “Excuse me, I am from Chicago and I was noticing you trying to get something. What do you need?” I whimpered out, “I just need 5 cents” The lady immediately went to her table and got 5 cents for me. I do not know if it was my tiredness or her sheer act of kindness, but as soon as she placed the 5 cents in front of me, I started crying. Almost instantly the woman said to me, “What do you actually need?” Normally, I have a difficult time asking people for help. In this instant, however, my words flowed as easily as the tears on my face (which were increasing by the second). I replied, “I need some water. I’m really thirsty.” At that, she got her own money, put it in the vending machine, and bought a water bottle for me. To some, what I did next may make no sense. I actually started crying more, to the point where I was sobbing so loudly that I needed to go to the washroom to regain my composure. I was so grateful that she noticed me that I could not hold back the tears of my gratitude. When I left the washroom, I walked up to the woman and told her how much I appreciated her act of kindness towards me.  Me telling her this still does not feel sufficient enough. I did not get her contact information.

To this day I want to thank her more by sending her a card or inviting her to my house. Somehow, however, I know she did not expect me to even say thank you, and she was happy just to be there for me in that moment. I pray everyday that I will be able to extend her kindness to someone else, and that I will notice a person and give them 5 cents or whatever they may need .  Someone noticing me in my despair was one of my most profound moments of gratitude, and I would be beyond thrilled to offer that to others.

Thank you for reading and commenting. Please enter the Gratitude Travel Writing competition and tell your story.

Gratitude Travel Writing Contest

We hope you enjoyed this entry in the We Said Go Travel Gratitude Writing Contest. Please visit this page to learn more and participate. Thank you for reading the article and please leave a comment below.

One response to “5 cents of Kindness in Finland

  1. Dear Pricilla,
    I’am working at Helsinki Airport, Commercial department and I just read your blog.
    I’am very sorry and sad what I read and I do try to understand your feelings. Even the end of your experience went better with other passengers help, not with our customer service.we could learn something of your feedback..
    Could you please contact to me by email?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

We Said Go Travel