A blast from the past...

I will tell you an interesting story that has happened to me yesterday.

Out of the blue, a stranger on facebook contacted me, asking if I was “the Nevin” that Brian had gone to College with years ago? The person contacting me was a Turkish lady, whom I had never met. She knew I went to college in London and she knew I had a friend called Brian from years ago. So being curious and intrigued by this message, I replied and said “Yes, probably”. A few hours later, I get an e-mail explaining to me that she is Brian’s wife.

Now let’s go back quite a few years…. I went to College in London and during my sophomore year, I had met an American guy named Brian. We became close friends. There was a group of us that was hanging out together doing bunch of crazy stuff, which college students do, however, I will not reveal any details if you don’t mind…. Brian had come to London only for a year as an ex-change student, so after a year of his stay, he went back to the US. At which point, we had completely lost touch. Back in the days, there was no Facebook, no Internet as we know it now, no Linkedin, no my Space etc… Years later, I find out that Brian marries a Turkish lady and is living in New Jersey… Only a few hours away from New York City!

Now let’s forward the time to “now”. I exchanged phone numbers with Brian’s wife, ….boom..., she calls me a few hours later… We talk a few minutes on the phone. She sounds very sweet and cute. She tells me she wants to surprise her husband by arranging a surprise meeting for us, for his birthday this week. She says, her husband has fond memories of his London years, namely the time we send together. So, I agree to meet them… hopefully, Brian and I will meet after… hmmm… many many years…. In case some of you might be wondering whether we dated or not, let me end your curiosity now… NO… we were just good friends that hung out together and did really fun stuff.

What is the purpose of this story? You see… I have lived in many countries over the years and sometimes I felt a bit scattered. I always felt, I left various layers of my life in different parts of the world. A little in London, a little in Vienna, a little in Toronto, and a little here and there. Now, I feel like I am collecting all these pieces back together again with the help of internet/technology. I am feeling in an odd way, kind of whole again…

Living in various countries can be a lot of fun, but it can be a little lonely at times. Sometimes, as one goes to a new place, one always needs to adjust and learn quickly the ways of the land. It takes a flexible person to do that…. Or one learns to be flexible very quickly…

I use to envy people who lived all their lives in one place where they knew everybody. But then again, my life was always exciting, thrilling, challenging, tough, different and various other adjectives which does not come to mind. At least, it was not BORING!

Now that I am a mature woman, a mother and wiser person over all, I am happy with myself. I feel content and privileged to have lived in various countries and to have met various people of all ethnicities, colors and background.

Soon, I will meet my old College friend, whom I have not seen in years… this is exciting!...

To be continued on my next “Politics-Free Friday”. (We all need a little break from reality, right?)

PS: for those of you, who may know London very well, will probably recognize Wong Kei. This was our hangout for many years: Really cheap and great Chinese food, plus terrible service and not that hygienic... (I don't think I could do it today) :)