Small World

Sunday February 16, 2014

I walked from my hotel in Ho Chi Minh to the Notre Dam Basilica to catch the morning church service. I underestimated how long it would take to walk there, so I was late, but I managed to squeeze in a pew before the sermon ended. I was surprised to discover that the sermon was delivered entirely in English with no Vietnamese accent. I was so curious where he was from, so I found him after the service and introduced myself. He said he was from Missouri. I told him I was from Louisiana. He was the youth pastor at Louisiana Tech in 1986 and 1987. I was born in Baton Rouge in 1988.
Small world.

Sunday November 9, 2014

I was at an Irish Pub in the financial district of NYC. The bartender asked me where I'm from. I said Louisiana. He asked which city. I assumed most people wouldn't know Slidell, so I just said it's an hour from New Orleans. "Not Slidell?" he asked. "Yes," I said, amazed. "How did you know?"
The bartender said he has been to New Orleans several times. "For Mardi Gras?" I asked.
He has never been to Mardi Gras. He's only been to NOLA for football games and helping Hurricane Katrina victims. My two-story house flooded with four feet of water in Katrina.
Small world.

Tuesday November 11, 2014

I was sitting at breakfast in my hostel in NYC, wearing my jacket with English Teacher written in Korean on the back. There was a girl at the table behind me. She noticed the Korean on my back and I noticed the Korean on her travel guide book. After exchanging a few glances, I asked if she was Korean. She was born in Chungcheongnamdo, the same province in Korea where I taught English. We're both twenty-six years old. She currently lives in Seoul. I'll be returning to Korea this March.
Small world.

Wednesday November 12, 2014

I took a bus from NYC to DC. While passing through New Jersey, I glanced out my window to see a big-rig riding along side us. Written on the cab of the delivery truck was "Hammond, LA," where I've lived since I started attending SLU in August 2007.
Small world.