seattle. hospitality.

our visit to seattle in the end wasn't so much about the city as it was about learning hospitality.  and by hospitality i dont mean the kind where you invite your best friends over for dinner on a day of the week when it is convenient for you and you have them bring dessert to save you the hassle. 

we flew to seattle not really knowing much about the city and not having a place to stay until the very last minute.  our friend from church contacted her friend in seattle and said we could crash at his place.  we contacted him and he said he'd meet us once we got there.  we were amazed that he and his parents (he lives with them) were totally down with us complete strangers staying with them but we had no idea how out of their way they would go for us. 

when we got to seattle we walked around for a bit until we met up with dj.  he showed up, introduced himself, insisted on carrying at least one of our bags, then proceeded to spend his entire day chauffering us around to the best and little-known parts of seattle.  if there is anyone who knows their way around seattle, its dj and his family.  if you didn't know they were from seattle by their bumper stickers, buttons, t-shirts or hats, you would know when you talked to them.  they love their city, and not in an exclusive way either.  for the day and a half we spent with them, they helped us experience their city in a way that caused us to see its beauty too. 

all in all, seattle was a great city, but the kind of hospitality dj and his family showed us made much more of an impression on us.  all three of them rearranged their shedules, figured out how to get us rides, made us breakfast and in general, just dropped everything for two strangers they had never met before.  these people get hospitality; real hospitality.  we hope that we can learn from dj and his parents and welcome strangers in our home in a way that goes beyond convenience.