That time I went on a date in an airport in Brazil

There is a guy I know who flies from Chicago to Utah on his free weekends to try and find a girlfriend. After a year, this strategy alone wasn't working so he starting picking up girls in the airport while flying back and forth to Utah. He's had a few successes. We've been laughing that this seems like a crazy idea. I've been on a lot of flights in my life, but haven't ever met someone in the airport or on a plane that I dated. Probably because I'm loaded down with carry-ons for an international trip and appear to be a poor packer or high maintenance or I look awful after flying for 20+ hours. Regardless, we thought this guy a weirdo and mocked his behavior.

And then it happened to me.

I was sitting in the airport in Sao Paulo waiting for my flight to Fortaleza to visit Becca and her parents. There were two flights leaving that morning, but I was on the later flight as I didn't know if I would make the earlier flight due to going through customs in Sao Paulo. I had a two hour wait ahead of me, so I went and sat behind the escalator where it was out of the way and quiet. As I'm sitting there, a guy walks up. I look at him and realize I know him. He sits down next to me and I wonder if I should say something or just keep sitting there. He turns to me and says, "I believe I know you."

Last year, Becca, Corinne and I were on a flight from Sao Paulo to Iguazu Falls. As we were boarding the plane, one of the flight attendants walks up and asks if we are Mormon, which we replied yes, and then asked if we were single, to which we also replied yes. He said he was also. It turns out he was from Fortaleza also and we joked about it being a small world. We all had a nice discussion on the flight and that was it.

 From our flight in 2010

Flash forward a year. This is the same guy who has sat down next to me. What are the chances of running into him again, considering I know 4 people in Brazil at the time and Sao Paulo alone has 13 million people?* He was also on the flight up to Fortaleza, but on the earlier flight. Lucky for me, he works for the airlines, so he has connections and was able to get me on the earlier flight. We flew up to Fortaleza, where he knew half the people on the plane. They were unable to get my luggage on the earlier flight so we had to wait at the airport. Lailton asked if he could buy me lunch and ice cream (like I could ever pass up an offer of food). And I realized I was on a date at in an airport food court. My friend would be so proud.

 

The three of us went out for ice cream that night. Precious.

*Don't get an wild ideas that it was fate and he is my EC. Not going to happen.