Her name was not just Sofia, it was Sofiaaaaahahaha! That I met her was without a doubt the hand of fate. I had checked out of the time share and was looking for a place to stay for my last two nights. I found a motel at the very edge of town and went in to ask about the price of a room. Since the price was a reasonable $50, it was an uncharacteristic move for me then to drive to the Best Western down the road to shop around. This little detour had me walking back into that motel at 12:05, just ahead of a petite asian woman. As the man behind the counter ran my credit card, he asked her how he could help her. "How long wok to airport?", she asked. "About two hours", he replied. She was clearly disappointed. She said she had heard the best view was at the airport. I told her that I would give her a ride. "Back tooooo?", she said. We headed toward the car and I noticed she didn't really walk. She either skipped or jumped or maybe even floated. My name Sofiaaaaa. Ha, ha, ha! I cleared off my passenger seat and we were off. She asked, "where you wok?" "I make web sites", I said. "Noooooo, where you wok", as she made walking motions with her two fingers. "Oh", I said, "where do I like to go hiking?" "Yeesssss! Ha, ha ,ha ,ha!" And thus began a two hour game of charades. She told me that she was from Taipai, Taiwan. She works as a home economics teacher, and this was her first time in the United States. It was the 21st country that she had visited. She was with a group that had stopped their tour bus in Sedona on their way to the Grand Canyan. "Others went on cheep tour", she said. "A cheap tour??" "Nooooo, cheep tour." She made a driving motion. "Oohhhh, a Jeep Tour." "Yeeessss. Cheep tour, Ha, ha ,ha ,ha! Too expensive!"
We found a beautiful overlook near the airport and took some pictures, but then she insisted that we go to the terminal. She just had to find the best view. We asked a man behind the counter where that view might be. He said it was the overlook where we had just been. "I want to get picture by airplane!" I was thinking that there was no way they were going to let us onto the flightline with airport security as it is. The man said, "I can't let you out there……..but I can take you out. My jaw dropped and I looked at Sofiaaaaahahaha! I could tell it was just life as usual. She just expected to see the best view, so the universe provided a person with a car, and now she was getting a picture with an airplane. I asked, "all the things to see in Sedona and you want to get your picture taken with one of these little planes?" Her reply? "Yessssssssss! Ha, ha ,ha!" No explanation, she just wanted to! I was thoroughly amused. The man snapped a couple pictures and we were off again. We had an hour and a half left and so much to see!
We climbed up to another overlook – "Sooo Beauuuuteefullllll!!!". What I noticed is how people reacted to her. She was like a beacon and her laugh was contagious. She said she really wanted to see the "church in the rock". Off we went. I asked her questions about her country and their political system. Taiwan is a republic that has was liberated from China 97 years ago. It is smaller than the state of Ohio with a population of 27 million people. I have always wondered what life was like in countries where there are so many people. I asked, "how many people live in your house?" "Oh, jus meeee." "Well, how big is your house?" "Oh, I have biiiggggg house, 400 square feet! Ha, ha ,ha!" Then she said, "You soooo lucky you live here. You travel anywhere." I said, "Yea, but I don't travel nearly as much as you do." She said that when she went to a place she would find a store that sells postcards. She would find the very best view and that is where she would go. It struck me that she must save every spare yen or whatever they have there just for trips like these. Finding the best view is almost always FREE. Wow, what a lesson. I decided right then that I would do that. I would seek out the best view and soak it in. It made me wish that I could go on to the Grand Canyon with her so that I could see her raw excitement over one of the best views in the world! I pictured her with her arms out like wings saying, "Soooo Beauuuuuuuteeeeful!", while the others on her tour bus shuffled into a 3D IMAX presentation of the Grand Canyon. We returned to town just in time for her to catch her bus.
Here I am in Sedona, Arizona, a place considered by many to be a spiritual mecca. I set out to find what it is in myself that keeps me from experiencing life fully, to find the source of my inhibitions I've always felt. Sofiaaaaahahaha blew in and out of my life in an hour and 50 minutes. If I never see her again, I will always remember her. In less than two hours, the universe gave me not only a friend, but an example of what it's like to truly live. We exchanged information, and she said next year she wants to go to the other coast. I couldn't believe that I had trouble thinking of wonderful views for her to see there. I have absolutely no doubt she will find them, though.
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