(small world, parte dos)

I chatted with a writer friend tonight, and I'm just as rebellious as I ever was about bedtime (even when I'm the authority), so I'm finally back, with a few new anecdotes in my ever-thickening file of "small world proofs " that I think you'll enjoy. There are three.

#1

Anne Kutzner has appeared in my blog accounts on several occasions. This time, she had something new to add in the way of crazy connections. Quick review of Anne as it relates to the encounter--we met when she studied abroad at Berry our Freshman year. Then she went back to Germany, continued her studies, and we've met up more than our share over the past 5 years. She recently caught a quick break from her studies and headed to Manchester, England to visit a friend who is studying there, Manu. I forget the details, but Anne ended up meeting a girl there who studied at Shorter College (the other college in the small, North Georgia Rome) while we were at Berry. I'm starting to start expecting these sorts of things...because they happen so much more often than I would have thought. Nevertheless, I'm still impressed that a German girl would go visit her friend in the UK and meet a girl who studied down the road from that college we went to that most people have never heard of.

#2

Charlie is a dear friend that I know from Berry. He was part of most things that I consider the best bits of college life, and some of the best bits of post-school life, as well. We've traveled in Europe together (with Anne from #1), and he's going to marry another dear college friend (Sarah) in June.

Kate is a newer friend, one I know from Rodez. We had tea and madeleines together often enough at my favorite café, Broussy. Most of our bonds were forged in common experiences of life in small-town France--fighting the paperwork wars, trying to wrest internet service from reluctant providers, and planning the occasional American holiday meal. Oh, and it turns out we lived a few blocks away from each other in Paris at the same time, too.

During my time in Rodez, Charlie and Kate both applied to graduate programs in English Lit. Charlie and Kate both got into the same program at Boston College. Charlie and Kate got the same scholarship for the same program (which Sarah had begun the year before). Charlie and Kate now have poetry class together and are/were "Scansion Buddies."

In short, Charlie and Kate (and Sarah) are going to be BFFs in no time (if all goes according to plan)--and it blows my mind that people from such different parts of my life would know each other in Boston, because of me. And be poetry partners, no less.

#3

This one comes with a picture! And in my opinion, it's the craziest small-world moment yet. As we all know, I'm living in the small town of Rio Bueno. About 30 minutes away is a slightly bigger town called Osorno, and it has a department store or two. One weekend, I went with my sweet host-cousin, Belén, and her mom to scout out a professional outfit--this was on our way to spend the weekend with her mom in the country. I was tired, and feeling bummed out under the florescent over-stimulation in a big store after spending more than a month in a town without a stoplight. After the clothes, we moved upstairs to browse home wares. I was in a bit of a fog, but while Belén's mom was cooing over some wooden mask decorations, I spied a set of trays, cups, and coasters with an old French postcard motif. You know the type--dramatic script, maybe a flower or two and some old stamps. I was feeling homesick for France and lingered over the semi-tacky home decor, and absently scanned the address on the postcard image.

"Hm, that's funny...that almost looks like it's addressed to Béteille...wait...I think it is...how strange, I wonder what other town (besides Rodez) would have a rue Béteille...HOLY COW this card is addressed to 22 rue Béteille RODEZ!!!"

Those were my thoughts, and once I processed them, I started babbling excitedly to Jana and Belén in broken Spanish, "Mi calle, mi calle!" "My street, my street!"

I finally made them understand the significance of this discovery. Wandering around a department store in Osorno, Chile, I just happened to find a postcard-themed set with the street that I lived on a couple months before. No, it wasn't just addressed to the relatively unknown town whose claim to fame is "Rodez was an important town in the middle ages." The address was on the street I lived on in that town. I guess it could have been closer to perfect. It could have been 59 rue Béteille.

All things considered, though, it was pretty damn impressive.


Courtesy of Jana's cell phone, here I am--flabbergasted by the address on this serving tray:


It's hard to make out, but if you know what you're looking for, you should be able to see it:


Oh, and to top that day off, Jana was excited to introduce me to her "panqueques." Turns out they were exactly the same food as a regional specialty (farçoux) that Kate (see #2) and I frequently enjoyed together during Saturday markets in Rodez.

That's all I've got for now. The way things have been going, though, I'm sure there will be a third installment. I hope so--keeps life amazing, and that's a great thing.