I Met a Man at the Eiffel Tower.

"Hello."

I was startled. I had been thinking I was the only person in the world. Just me and this tower together on this lawn. Laughing and talking about all the things we had seen today. But the heavily accented voice drew me from my reverie. I looked at the man sitting next to me.

"Where did your friend go?" I determined this is what he said after a moment of confusion. My ears weren't tuned to his voice.

Laura had desperately gone in search of a bathroom, which I tried to explain to the man. He smiled and nodded, but I don't know if he actually understood me.

"Are you American?" he asked me. I sighed. I wished I could fit in here, among the Parisians who spent hours enjoying conversation over meals in cafes and walking their perfectly behaved dogs.

"Yes, I'm American. Where are you from?"

"I live here, in this city, with my brother. He is 19. He says hello, but doesn't speak English, " he pointed at the younger man next to him. I was surprised; they did not sound French. "We've been here two years. We are from Egypt."

I had never met anyone from Egypt before. I was a long way from the streets of Cedar Hills that all looked the same and the houses that were all painted various shades of forgettable. I had never owned a passport until a month ago so I knew very little about the place this man and his brother called home. I knew what Egypt was. I learned about it in history. I saw it in movies. I heard about it in the news. But I didn't know what made it their home.

"What brought you to Paris?" I asked.

"My home became very dangerous. One day I woke up wondering if today I might be shot. That is when I left. Most of my family stayed behind."

I thought of the people I had briefly left behind in Utah. My friends were probably playing games in the park by day and wandering the suburban streets by night looking for things to do. My family was probably eating hamburgers and watermelon for dinner every night because it is summer and that's what we do during the summer.

Two days ago I did not know my path would ever cross with this man whose life was so different from mine. But now that it had, I was ever so slightly different.

Laura returned, unsuccessful in her quest for a bathroom. I knew she was uncomfortable, but I couldn't help but laugh a little. We stayed until the tower lights came on. It did not disappoint.