Last summer, my husband, our children, and I spent time in Spain during a Mediterranean cruise. Spain is beautiful. The architecture is breathtaking. The food is wonderful. The people we met were, for the most part, warm and welcoming.

But one conversation has stayed with me ever since.

It started over something completely trivial.

Right before Shabbat, I noticed my nail polish had chipped. It was one of those very “girl” moments. I didn’t want to board the ship with chipped nails, so I wandered through town looking for a salon.

I didn’t realize it was a national holiday. Nearly everything was closed.

Eventually, I found one small salon that happened to be open.

I didn’t speak Spanish well enough to explain what I needed, and the woman sitting next to me kindly translated. We started talking. She was lovely. We chatted about life, about the city, and eventually she asked what I did for work.

“I organize communities and work in politics,” I told her.

The conversation flowed naturally until I........

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