1 post tagged “coincidence”

No, I haven't departed on my exchange 7 months earlier, nor have I arrived at the airport to count how many planes land on our miniscule runway. I am here because of an amazing coincidence.

A few months ago, just after I had submitted my appication to AFS, I was trawling YouTube looking at exchange videos in an afternoon of boredom. There was one about a Belgian girl who spent a year in NZ, and a comment below it was from somebody from Spain, saying that he/she was coming to NZ in a few months and would like to hear from anyone who had been there. The comment was dated one month ago. 

Having just created an account on Youtube with my sister, I replied to the comment, explaining that I was from NZ and was happy to answer any questions about the country. We then began emailing each other, and I found out her name, and a littler bit about her and her family, as well as telling her about my family and myself. She said that she was living on a farm, and was that normal? In my reply, I asked what area of NZ she would be living in. She replied, and the name of where she would be living was a town, 20 minutes drive from where I live. I was shocked. What a coincidence! We would probably meet each other in a couple of months at an AFS chapter event. 

At my interview, I told of this amazing coincidence and they asked if I would like to meet her at the airport. Well, I did, but I hadn't heard from her in a few weeks, and I thought it would be best to ask. Since the interview was a day before her arrival, I did not get a response.

So here I am, at the airport, and I think I have found the people who might possibly be her host family. I realise that I recognise one of the girls from an AFS meeting back in February. What was I going to say to them? It took me a few minutes to gather up my courage to speak to them. I was sitting in a seat behind the host father, I guess. I turned around in my seat and asked "Excuse me, are you the ********'s waiting for *****?" They all turned around looking puzzled, as I expected. So I quickly explained why I was here, hoping that they wouldn't think I was some crazed stalker or anything. Well, as far as I knew, they didn't. Both the faces of the parents looking surprised (in a good way) when I told them the story, and I continued to chat with her host father until the plane arrived. As the passengers were getting off the place, I tried to guess which one was *****. I followed the family over to the single arrival gate, and then I saw her. She still had no idea who I was! 

While the host family did their introductions, I hung back, but then her host mother stepped forward and introduced her to me. I think she looked a little confused (but I don't know) until she realised who I was. We hugged, and then I followed the host family to get her luggage. While the host parents helped her to find her suitcases, I stood with the two host sisters and another exchange student, from Finland, that they were hosting. By the doors of the airport, ***** and I exchanged phone numbers and I walked back to the car, ready to drive back to my home and to have dinner, wondering what it would be like when I would meet my host family at the airport.