Tessa

When I think about Tess and I being friends, I smile.

Because really, what is the chance that I would walk into a local food store in Auckland, New Zealand and find someone from the same state as I am? In my eight months here, I can say I've only done that once.

What are the chances?

Believe me, I've gone over the absurdity of it. If she wouldn't have been in the store at that moment with that (Grinnell Softball) t-shirt on, I would have passed her with no second thought. And to this day, I have never, ever run into Tessa at the store again. Wearing an Iowa shirt OR normal clothes.

She would have gone on living three blocks away, unbeknownst to me.

But luckily, I did run into her and we're now great friends. We get together for coffee, smoothies, sushi, or shopping a few times a week. We always have lots to talk about, and we go on, blah, blah. The humor of two Americans, sitting oblivious to the rest of the world (which is how we are when we get to talking), is pretty funny if you think of it.

Tessa lives with and loves her boyfriend George. They met last time she was here doing her outternship (evidently like an internship, but opposite) for culinary school. She cooked at the same restaurant that he was a waiter at. They dated very casually at first, and then realized that they really liked each other. But, when Tess left to go back to the States, she left George here.

After finishing culinary school, she decided to return, pursuing and securing a position at the Auckland Hilton. That's how she ended up back here, with George, and at my Foodtown (or was I at HER Foodtown?)

Although Tess and I are very different (she likes to work out, I've become allergic to exercise; she knows what all foods are, I thought a lentil was a 40 day religious fasting period) it's still super great to have someone with whom you can talk about home (and even though she doesn't know who the Nadas are, I've forgiven her). In fact, we agree on the following things:

We can't stand how unreliable kiwis are.
We agree that Girl Scout cookies kick Girl Guide cookie ass.
We think nothing beats a morning cup of tea at a local cafe.
We both think tennis shoes here cost WAY too much.
We can't stand the lack of choice at the supermarket.
We both think that soya is a dumb name for soy.

She'll also be with my when I get my next tattoo. Very soon.

Lucky me for wandering into Foodtown on that warm November night.