I returned to my one of my favorite stores the other day and was combing through the sales rack.  I found a few things and went to try them on. I noticed this salesperson would peep her head out each time I tried on a different outfit and parade in front of the mirror.  She would say, “Yes, that’s the one.” She seem to always know when I was coming out of the dressing room and head to the mirror. This went on for every outfit I tried on. I picked the ones I liked and then preceded to checkout. She saw me and came over to the register. While ringing up the clothes at the cash register,  she comment on how nice everything looked on me. After I paid for the purchases, she began walking with me out the door. Then she said, “Oh, I wish I could wear some of those things you bought.” I asked her why she felt she could not. She said because I bought mainly pants with tops. Then she flashed her hand in front of my eyes so that I could take notice of the big rock on her finger. She giggled and said she was engaged and getting married to a minister, so she now has to practice wearing dresses, since she will be a “first lady” one day. I laughed. Then with a serious look she said, “You seem to a woman of prayer, can you please pray for me?” I was baffled because I didn’t know how she guessed I was a Christian. I squeezed her hand and told her I would. I pray for her daily. 

I had an urge recently to go shopping. I hate shopping but it is a necessity when you don’t have clothes. So, I ventured out and went to one my favorite stores. They were having a great sale and I decided to accumulate all that I could with the few dollars in my purse. At this particular store, the salesperson gets a small percentage of your sale if they help you. I don’t like people bothering me in the store, so I usually ignore the salespeople until I absolutely need them, and that’s at checkout. On this particular day, this salesperson was getting on my nerves. She began following me from the moment I walked in the door. I tried to ignore her a couple of times, but she was persistent. 

After I sorted out what I was going to buy I approached her and said, “Since you have been following me all afternoon, do you want to ring up my purchases?” She laughed and said yes. Since I don’t go shopping all the time, when I do I usually buy a lot of clothes for the season. Summer was around the corner and I needed some summer wear. I must have spent close to $1100 this day on a few things. After she rang up the total, her eyes beamed with joy. She packaged my order and came out from behind the counter to deliver the bag to me. She hugged me and said, “Thank you, this made my day. Today is my final day working here. I’m retiring after 30 years and you made my day because this is the last order for me today and for the last order I will receive 80% of the sale as a bonus.” I was shocked! 80% off the sale, wow!!! She was happy and I was leaving broke this picture didn’t seem to add up in my favor.

Anyway,  as I was driving home, I could not help but remember her. I said a prayer and thanked God that I was able to make someone’s day. I was her last customer and SHE had a good payday:)

This encounter happened in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It was a Sunday afternoon, I had just arrived in Sao Paulo. I checked into the hotel and decided to go for a walk around the property.  I went outside and was almost blinded by the sunlight. So, I went back to my room to get my sunglasses. To my dismay, they were not in my suitcase or my bag. Brazil can be very sunny, so I decided to take a trip to the nearby mall and purchase a pair of sunglasses. I boarded the hotel shuttle, which was free, and headed to the mall. The majority of Brazilians in Brazil do not speak fluent English and many do not speak or understand English at all. Finding an eyeglass store was not difficult once I got to the mall. I took the escalator up one level and there in front of me was an eyeglass store. I looked in the window at the glasses, but the prices were very high. A lady came out the store and approached me, beaconing me to come in. I understood a little of what she was staying, however, I let her know that I didn’t speak Portuguese. She chuckled and tried to do sign language. I tried to explain to her that the prices were very high and I just wanted a simple pair of sunglasses to use while in Brazil. Of course this short explanation turned into several minutes of misinterpretations. But she was excited to meet someone who spoke English so she could try out the little that she knew.

She took my hand and brought me into the store to show me her whole collection of sunglasses. She had me try on several glasses and showed me pictures of other women wearing them. After about an hour, we settled on a pair that was within my price range and likeness. I purchased the glasses with a credit card. She muttered something in Portuguese and gave me a little gift for stopping by. I didn’t intend to spend this much time at the mall, so I proceeded to leave. She saluted me with the traditional Brazilian good bye- kiss on each cheek.

I visited one more store, and then decided it was time to head back to the hotel. I went outside to where the shuttle had dropped me off only to find out the shuttle had stopped running for the day. The driver failed to tell me this information. I started looking for a taxi. Of course no one spoke English. Then I realized that I didn’t have any Brazilian dollars in my purse, and the taxi only takes Brazilian dollars. I went back into the mall to find an ATM. I saw a money machine and inserted my ATM card. The information was coming up in Portuguese and I did not understand what it was telling me. I asked someone behind me and they did not understand what I wanted. It became very frustrating. I tried several times to find the English component on the ATM machine, but had no success. I was at a lost and didn’t know what to do. 

I remembered by “new friend” in the eyeglass store, so I went back to find her in hopes that she would be able to help me with the ATM machine and to assist me with getting a taxi. I found her and tried to explain to her my problem. She didn’t understand me right away, however after several tries, I beaconed her to come with me to the ATM. She agreed. When I took her to the machine, she discovered the problem. Read More…