The Kindness of Strangers

Sometimes, the people who change our lives the most are the ones we never expected to meet.

The server who doesn’t rush you as you fumble through your order.
The language school owner who counts the crumpled dollar bills on the table—not to judge, but to figure out how many lessons they can give.
The restaurant owner who tells their daughter’s immigrant math tutor, “Come in anytime—you eat for free.”

For immigrants, these moments matter.

Because in a new country, you don’t always have a safety net.
Family is far. Friends take time.
So sometimes, kindness comes from the people who owe you nothing.

The guy at the bank who overhears your confusion and quietly explains what the teller just said.
The kid on the playground who doesn’t care about accents, just wants to play.
The person on the sidewalk who sees you scanning street signs, points in the right direction, and walks away before you can even thank them.

Maybe they don’t even remember what they did.
But for the person on the receiving end, those small acts of kindness are the moments that stick.

Because when everything feels foreign—kindness is the one language that always translates.