An Story of Unexpected Kindness: When a Student Allowed Me to Sleep on Her Dormitory Floor
Back in the year 2006, I made a trip to the Australian capital for a medical school interview. I assumed to arrange lodging after getting there, but once I got there, a big convention was taking place and every single backpackers hostels and cheap hotels were fully booked.
As a visitor from the city-state of Singapore, I considered the possibility of just sleep at the airport – only to discover Canberra airport, not like the one back home, is not open around the clock. With no idea how to proceed and feeling increasingly desperate, I boarded a city-bound bus and started wandering in the direction of the casino, thinking I could pass the night in a place operating through the night. That wouldn’t put me in the ideal condition for acing the admissions interview the next day, yet, as a student on a tight budget, a pricey hotel was out of reach.
We could all use more people with such compassion.
I must have looked confused as a female student noticed me walking aimlessly through the city and asked if I was OK. I explained the story of my accommodation crisis and without hesitation she said I could crash on a spare mattress in her student dorm at the Australian National University – a perfect solution, given that my the important interview would take place the next morning. She even offered a meal: one sandwiches she had from her work shift. I was able to use warm shower facilities and somewhere safe and secure to spend the night.
Looking back, I now understand what a big chance she took as a woman letting a guy who was a complete stranger crash at her place. At that time I existed within a bubble of male privilege and was oblivious to the potential danger. Now, as a father, it astounds me she did that – yet deeply appreciative.
Ultimately, I did not attending the Australian National University, and I never saw her again, but I’ve never forgotten her amazing act of human compassion. My sincere desire is that life has returned her generosity tenfold. We could all use more individuals who show such kindness.
