Swiss miss: Linking Mexico to Geneva

My husband has gone back home from Mexico for more than a week now. As there were very few fellow participants from the Philippines in that conference, he instantly made new friends with people from DOLE, DFA and other UN agencies. One of them was Peach. Vincent was so happy to have found a fellow UP alumni in the crowd! Peach was about his age, and so they clicked. In one of their conversations, he mentioned that I'm here in Geneva and will be here for the next two months. Peach works at the UN headquarters here and said that she'll be travelling back to Geneva right after the conference. Knowing how much I'm sore from homesickness, my husband was so excited at the thought that Peach and I could actually set up a time and meet while I'm here. Incidentally, Peach was once an intern at the ILO herself and her mother is friends with my landlord's mom. Things are beginning to fall into place, I should say.

Vincent mentioned Peach to me just once while he was in transit on his way back home. I never knew her contact details and my husband only knew her email address, which he often forgets handing out to me. I really had no way of getting hold of her. In short, I put aside the idea of meeting her personally.

To Vincent's right is Peach.

On a rainy Wednesday afternoon rush hour, my friend LK and I were standing near the door inside a jam packed bus, as we were headed downtown. An Asian girl hopped on the bus the next stop after the ILO's, and the moment she jumped in, she immediately recognized LK and joined in our Tagalog conversation. LK introduced me to her using my nickname (Teng). Somehow, she was able to make the connection because when we shook hands, she said, "Teng...Christine? Wife ni Vincent?" It was Peach. Grabe, I wanted to hug her at that moment! I thought to myself that this was the same Peach my husband exchanged stories with halfway across the globe. And now she's here with me -- on the bus! But I restrained myself from doing so kasi baka matumba ako. Hahaha! But I was so excited to have finally met her.

Her place is just two stops away from where she alighted, and since we were all standing in a moving bus, I just asked her to type in my cell phone her email address. We've been in touch through email since then.

Such a small, small world.