After All, It is a Small World

Last weekend I had the privilege of a three-day mini vacation in Berlin. Back in October, Easyjet offered some amazing deals, and I had my wonderful cousin's apartment to crash in, so even though school was barely on break, I jumped at the chance to visit Germany's capital. I thoroughly enjoyed the sites, the museums, the history, the international food, the culture, and the stories, but one thing happened that I couldn't have planned or initiated if I had tried to.

On the very first day, I signed up for a free walking tour, and we ended up being such a big group, that they decided to split us up. The first guide said he'd take "this crowd over here," and about 20 of us trudged through the rain behind him to a nice view of the Brandenburg Gate where we began said tour. As we walked through the city, people started to strike up small talk conversations with others. I met a nice Scottish couple who now lives in Australia and an American from California just wrapping up her semester abroad. At one point, though, I overheard a woman say she taught at an international boarding school. "Interesting," I thought, "I didn't think they were any others besides BFA in Europe." Due to the course and then eventual end of the tour, I didn't get a chance to chat with her until we were departing from our final stop, and we happened to head off in the same direction.

Our conversation went (almost) exactly as follows:

Me: So, you work at an international boarding school? Me too!
Stranger: Neat. Where?
Me: Here in Germany.
Stranger: My school is in the U.S. But I've lived overseas, too.
Me: Where?
Stranger: In Asia.
Me: Me, too. Where in Asia.
Stranger: In Taiwan.
Me: Me, too.
Stranger: I was there on a Fulbright scholarship.
Me: What?!? Me, too!
Stranger: Okay, this is freaky. Where in Taiwan?
Me: I-Lan Province.
Stranger: Shut up! Me, too. If you say Gu-Ting Elementary with Gloria, I ...
Me: YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stranger: ...
Me: ...
(Mouths wide open.)
Stranger: When?
Me: 2004/05
Stranger: I was there in 2008/09. It was weird. When I was there, they kept saying I looked like one of their former teachers, a Katrina.
Me: I'm Katrina!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Needless to say, I was shouting at this point. I mean, what are they odds?! We took a picture to send to Gloria, and then we parted ways, probably never to meet again. Then again ....