It’s A Small World After All

We all know the annoying Disney ride and none of us can escape the constant onslaught of “gosh darn it, the world is so darn small” (with some even claiming it is flat - Well done Friedman. Well done). I figured that since I was moving to Sydney, Oz, which feels like it’s on the other side of the Universe, the only visitors I’d see would be from highly pre-planned trips, deadly spiders and deadly sharks. Turns out I was wrong. It has been just two weeks and already the connections are soaring in (literally, in some case).



First there’s the roomie extraordinaire Josh, who looks ridiculous in this picture. Fortunately, I don’t have to worry about him seeing it because he never reads my blog (a now ongoing joke).



Then there’s Bernadette, who I worked with in European Parliament and now lives and works in Canberra, just a few hours drive from Sydney. We rocked out to “I Am The One & Only” at the conservative party’s Christmas Do way back in 2004. Those animals!



Next comes Paul, a friend of one of my dearest University friends, Laura (pictured, also looking ridiculous). We’re grabbing a drink tomorrow night. Not only does he work in Sydney, he literally lives NEXT DOOR (no planning).



Fourth on the list is Benedikt. German, he recently moved here to finish up his medical degree. The connection? WE SAILED DOWN THE YANGTZE RIVER IN CHINA TOGETHER NEARLY THREE YEARS AGO. Thank you email updates and Facebook for making this one happen. If I remember correctly, we were 2 of only 8 foreigners on a Chinese cruise ship of 500 people. Oh memories!



Finally, there’s Andy. He soared in last Friday for 9 days on a work assignment and we hit the town all weekend. The connection? WE ROAD THE TRANSIBERIAN RAILWAY THROUGH CHINA, MONGOLIA, AND RUSSIA TOGETHER LAST YEAR. Thank you email updates and Facebook for making this one happen as well. If I remember correctly, we were 2 of only 8 foreigners on a Sino-Russo train of 500 people. Oh memories!

What’s the moral of the story? It seems that no matter how far away you get, you’re still just around the corner from several people you’ve known and met all over the world. And when they’re not right there, just just a wall post, link-share, message, or poke away!

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Kyle Taylor