The kindness of strangers

One of the perks of my position here as visiting professor is that someone else cleans my apartment and does my laundry. Her name is Mrs. B. and she comes on Friday mornings when I am at the university teaching.

We have a running joke: I leave her a few kuna as a tip, and we keep turning the same piece of paper around: on one side I have written Hvala! (thank you); on the other side she has written Molim! (you are welcome). Sometimes she leaves me bits of clothing that are not mine. These, of course, I return.

Last week she left me two amazingly wonderful gifts.

Eggs from her own chickens!

And a pair of hand-made wool slippers. She also left a note which translates roughly as "So that you will have something to remember the unknown Mrs. B. by." My friend V. commented that we see to have formed a very loving relationship--remarkable considering we've never met!

Kindness, indeed.