The guy sitting next to me gave a ‘thank you’ and a smile as he sat down, so I’d thought I’d try and strike up a conversation–something I usually want to do but don’t. Turns out he’s a graduate student in Texas but happened to go to the University right next to mine in Shanghai. What are the chances? We spoke for a few hours on and off throughout. He helped me practice my Mandarin, told me where to go and what to do, and even helped me find the Domestic departures terminal when we got to Beijing. A really cool guy.
Then, in the customs line, I asked a woman whether I was in the correct one. She didn’t know either. And I could tell she was a little nervous being in China alone. After we had figured it out, I eventually asked whether she was heading there for work, and assumed to hear a ‘yes’. But it turns out, she wasn’t. She was on her way to adopt a 12 year old Chinese girl who had lost her parents. This lady was about to become a mother.
When you’re in an airport, do you ever think about the weird but true probability that about 99.9% of people you see that day, you won’t ever see again? And unfortunately, that percentage includes the people you talk to. Because of the sheer multitude of faces in the crowd that walk by, it’s easy to forget that every one of these people has their own family, friends, hopes, failures, and dreams. And it’s also easy to label the conversation you might have as simply enjoyable, and as not really more than just a way to pass the time.
But yesterday, those two people I met didn’t really seem random.
The guy I think represented the certainty I felt when heading over to China. I knew some Mandarin and a little bit about the area to which I was headed. Talking with him reinforced and strengthened the factors of my trip I felt more comfortable about.
The woman I think represented the uncertainty that was coming with my new situation. The nervousness of a life-changing event, but also the excitement for the happiness it could bring.
When I look back on the 33 hours of travel, I probably will forget that I almost missed my connection flight or that my bag was checked and rechecked because they thought my harmonica could pose a threat to my fellow passengers. But I won’t forget those two individuals that I met.
What I learned today is to never assign the degree of importance of an event or an interaction before you actually experience it. Because when you don’t, the outcome will probably be a lot better than you could have imagined.
Stefano Montali 