Miniencounters

I went to my hometown the past week and I found 3 pleasant surprises. Destiny? I still think that Monterrey is a handkerchief.

Let me tell you that I returned to Monterrey about a week ago, it isn't too far away but I missed it and a lot. I organized myself to arrive early and visit my grandmother, she is 95 years old, and I couldn't miss the opportunity to see her. The airport is far away from her house, so I decided to take a taxi and contact the same route my company gets.

This company should have about 70 different operators, and when I used to travel, there was a driver that pick me up. His name is Amador Reyna and I have about 8 months without contacting him. Casually when I get out of the terminal, the driver that was waiting for me was Amador, he recognized me and shyly went to greet me. At the beginning he thought that I wouldn't recognize him, but I remember a lot of different things, specially people, so I immediately recognize him back and we catch up on the streets, new constructions, overpasses, among other.

The second meeting I had, was planned with one month on advance, some of my oldest friends, because we became a group about 30 years ago, concur at Monterrey the same date. This is quite a challenge because we came from different locations: Shanghai, San Sebastian, Charlotte, Playa del Carmen, Mexico City and of course Monterrey. My sister Gabriela organised the party and as expected, when we get together the encounter became wonderful. This long friendship take us to live so many different situations. We promised to keep in touch and always supporting each other.

While returning as I passed my way through the airport security, I bumped to Rafael. He is one of my alumni, and I was really happy to get a fast chat with him. He told me that recently had accepted a job offer and he was on his way to move out to a different country. He had to learn about housing rentals, friends, visas. We shared some memories on his admission to the MBA and he told me how this experience became a springboard on his professional development. I was really proud of his personal projects and that he is willing to have a lot more experiences.

It was a short trip, but as you may see, really productive on my networking contacts. I leave you with some thoughts to live this mini encounters:

a) If you recognize someone, do not be afraid to share it, maybe at the beginning he won't remember, but it doesn't matter, at least it would be an "icebreaker" and you can have a meaningful conversation.
b) If you have a regular contact with your pals, do as my sister Gabriela, use everything on your side to convince your friends and make it happen. Your friends will always want to have spaces to remember.
c) If you find a friend on his way to a new city, offer your long distance help, keep in touch, and when you visit the place, you may be able to have a good chat.