12-hour taxi ride, free

A taxi driver went far beyond "the extra mile" when he drove a stranded student from Bilbao, Spain, to Montebello, Italy (near Venice) recently. Giada Collalto, 22, was studying in a foreign exchange program in Spain. When the worst of the pandemic hit, her school closed, her roommates moved away, and she tried to find a way to return to her family in Italy.

First she purchased an airline ticket, but at the last minute she was told she could not board the plane. Then a friend told her he knew a taxi driver who might help. She contacted Kepa Amantegi, who drove her the whole 12-hour trip, free of charge. They were not stopped at the border because she was returning home and he was a taxi driver. During the trip they spent one night at his family's home, where she was treated as one of the family. And when they arrived in Montebello, he spent a night at her family's home before driving back.