While I was sitting alone in the lounge of our hotel in London late at night, the hotel's evening concierge came into the room and asked a simple question about my laptop. An hour later, we were still talking. By that point I had learned that my new friend was originally from Nigeria and had moved to London 10 years ago due to violence in the area. His father died in passage and he one day hoped to be able to move to America — not because of liberty or rights or anything like that, but for the simple reason that it is cheaper than central London.

As I began to pack up — it was after 2 a.m. by this point — my friend asked ever so politely if I needed to go to bed, or if I would mind staying and discussing politics with him. I of course jumped at the opportunity, and as soon as I gave him the green light, he talked for more than a half hour without stopping. As he had throughout the conversation, he spoke slowly and deliberately, choosing words carefully, and struggling to overcome the language barrier. Yet he spoke with striking rationality about the tenure of former President Bush and President Obama. He knew more about post-9/11 politics than I do, and he passionately spoke about the pressure placed on Africans like himself to vote for Obama simply because he is black.

After I had spent a few minutes explaining what I felt were critical aspects of American politics which I felt could help contextualize our discussion, we finally called it a night. He wrote down his email address on my white pad, and I handed him a business card. It was an encounter and an exchange I will never forget.

That night put everything in yet a little more perspective. While Big Ben, the white cliffs of Dover and the Canterbury Cathedral have been breathtaking, it's conversations like the one I had that evening that make foreign travel such an incredibly rewarding experience. I really, honestly do hope that one day in the next few years, I'll check my inbox, and I'll see a note from my good friend. Then maybe we can meet in a different hotel, somewhere on my side of the pond.