Like many people in the world, I have spent my time locked down. Recently due to coming into contact with someone who had COVID-19, my partner and I had to self-isolate for 14 days and get tested. Thankfully the person who we were exposed to only developed very mild symptoms and has fully recovered. We did not catch it at all.
A stranger appeared hanging outside the apartment
One afternoon I noticed ropes hanging down past the apartment windows. We are on the third floor of this building. Eventually, a man descended in full climbing gear. He was cleaning the windows. That was Sam.
Even though he was working and we had never met before, he kindly took a break from his work to entertain the questions that I had for him about his unique job. He literally hung out with me for more than 5 minutes. It was great. Here is a short video where I captured some of Sam’s thoughts about how some people avoid meeting people.
Here are a few of the questions that I asked:
Me: “Have you ever stumbled upon anything super-crazy or weird in an apartment that you were working on?”
Sam: “No: I don’t look inside. Although sometimes pets will come to the windows and swat at the cleaning equipment as I am working.”
Me: “What’s the tallest building you’ve worked on?”
Sam: “47 stories. It was the first building that I ever did. But I love this job. It’s great.”
Speaking with Sam was really enjoyable because I got to learn more about his profession, and it was just nice to speak with someone new, in-person towards the end of my quarantine.
So how do you meet people while in quarantine?
There are opportunities to meet people everywhere you look. It takes the willingness and openness to these opportunities to allow them to happen. It’s not common for someone to appear outside your window, but people are everywhere. Communicate with people when you can and keep connected.
Wherever you are in the world at this time, how might you connect with a new person in the coming days?
Tony Esteves is an entrepreneur and performer who dearly wants more people to connect face-to-face. He is a facilitator and coach who created the Talk2MorePeople Project. In 2016/17 he met at least one new stranger a day for a full year. The Talk2MorePeople book – a guidebook for how to meet people, will be released on January 21, 2021. Tony is passionate about being outdoors, travel and play.
