22-year-old Giada Collalto had been living in the Spanish city of Bilbao as part of a European language studies course when—unfortunately for her and thousands of others—the COVID-19 outbreaks left her quarantined without hope of getting home. After a series of remarkable misfortunes, it was a stroke of luck in the opposite direction that got her safely back to her family in Venice.
After word of the outbreak in Italy reached Ms. Collalto in Bilbao, she decided to wait and see what would happen. But in mid-March the semester was prematurely ended, and lectures began to be broadcast online.
Studying abroad doesn’t make much sense if you are stuck in your apartment staring at a computer screen, and with the possibility of COVID-19 being the next historic influenza, Collalto became determined to return home.
She managed to purchase a plane ticket from Madrid to Paris to Rome, then to Venice on April 8. However, the Italian government had already implemented the harshest quarantine measures, including a 200-meter restriction of travel around one’s house even in rural areas, and a flight attendant informed her she was not permitted to travel home.
Aside from being stranded in a foreign country, she was now stranded in a foreign city: Madrid.
“I was desperate and angry; my parents were worried but couldn’t do anything to help me. I called the embassy and they told to me to send an email. All hotels in Madrid were closed, with no public transport to go back to Bilbao,” she told CNN.
A friend of hers from Bilbao contacted a taxi driver, a 22-year-old man named Kepa Amantegi.
“He immediately said he was available to come to pick me up and he drove nine hours from Bilbao to Madrid and back,” Kepa said.
However, when she returned, she was informed that her apartment was no longer available, whereupon Kepa invited her to spend the night.
“His parents and his two sisters welcomed me as a member of the family, I will never forget their kindness,” Collalto recalled.
The next morning, she and her new friend Kepa pondered if it were possible to simply drive the 1,500 km back to Venice.
Kepa made attempts at calling local authorities and, surprisingly, receiving all the necessary authorizations for her journey home, as she was permitted to travel and the taxi driver was allowed to work. Despite her insistence on paying him for the 3,000-kilometer round trip, he graciously declined, stating, “I don’t want to take advantage of you; I see you are in a difficult situation, don’t worry about the cost.” After staying overnight at Collalto’s parents’ house in Montebello, Kepa returned home the next day with a tote bag filled with regional treats like grappa, wine, and chocolate
Ms Collalto couldn’t contain her joy and gratitude as she expressed, “It’s something I will never forget; I was a complete stranger to this young man,” and added, “I think this pandemic can bring out the best in people.”
Just like the pandemic brought out the best in people, every life experience gives us a neutral opportunity, it is up to us to do the noble thing by Trying A Little Kindness.
Tough times may stretch us beyond our limits, but it’s crucial that we don’t use them as an excuse to be mean and inconsiderate. When we find people in a fix, we must resist the temptation to take advantage of their situations to exploit them; instead, our sense of humanity and kindness should overshadow every contradictory, self-centered personal ambition.