Soy Ahora
“Sam, I love you,” Isam gushed with an embrace. I was taken aback. Our two-day acquaintance had been stark with his straight-laced German mannerisms: the first greeting a brusque nod; our first conversation about his regimented jump roping and beet-garlic smoothie routine. He’d skipped while I had scrolled on the far corner of our hostel rooftop on my first night in Mexico. I never would have fathomed hugging him at a jungle rave. It came to be by way of a very different first impression: Capri from Belgium, fresh out of university on her first backpacking trip. “Do you want to come to dinner with us?” she’d asked before I'd even put a name to her lithe frame and oversized glasses. I was just returning from my own, lone meal, but we spent the following afternoon along with Isam at the beach. She had a knack for uniting, acknowledging each new backpacker and gleaning their story as they shyly entered the hostel kitchen....