Its a Small world after all
 

My parents have been here just over a week now, and last week we took them to the Auckland Museum and we walk into a lady who lives next door to one of my friends parents...this makes you realise just how small a world it is really. She lives just around the corner from them

I am exhausted after spending the last week with my parents, I have come back to work for a rest, while they have gone on a coach tour for the next 10 days

Re: Its a Small world after all
 

Hi Dawn, have you had a lovely time?
My sister left yesterday for her last 8 days in NZ which she is spending in SI. It was horrible beyond words saying goodbye after 4 excellent weeks with her. We did so much, even had a surfing lesson!

Back on the sujbect, I worked with a lady who used to live in Abu Dabi with her parents. One day whilst there, she almost got run over by an English man new to the country. He got out the car to apologise and she ranted at him for a while.
A year later, she was back in England visiting a friend, having a drink in a small country pub when she saw a familar face and couldn't place it. Turned out it was him. He remembered her from her blonde hair and bright red face as she yelled at him!

Re: Its a Small world after all
 

I've been wondering where you two have been and was beginning to think I must be missing you as no longer on early in the mornings UK time as not working anymore?:(

Have you both had lovely times with family? Not too stressful I hope? Any tips for when ours come out?:unsure:

Re: Its a Small world after all
 

Hi Jude

It has been lovely having them here, just very tiring and I now know why I couldnt live at home any longer, my dad is so hard work to live with one way or another and sometimes I wonder how my mum puts up with him:rofl: hes such a fussy bugger and boy do my parents both get up loads in the night:ohmy: anyway it was still lovely to have them here even if it was hard work at times.....the plus points, I didnt wash up for the whole week and my mum did all the cooking:D

I also know now why my sister sent me an email to say Good luck with Dad, she could have warned me:p

thats really uncanny about your sister...glad you had a great time with your sister.....I found out my dad was scared of heights when I took him up the Sky Tower....my mum didnt even know that:rofl: I called him a wimp

Re: Its a Small world after all
 

Still around but been really busy at work before I finished for holiday...and then not to much time in the last week, been doing touristy things

Its kind of stressful with relatives visiting...you find out all your parents bad habits, that they have developed since you left home and remember all the old ones they had befor you left home:rofl: and vice versa they find out yours

Tips for when they come to visit...DONT let them:rofl: No seriosuly, its great to have them here, but you do value your own privacy when they go (they are away on a coach trip for 10 days)but I guess you having children you dont get quite so much privacy...now I know why I dont have kids:D

not long till you leave now is it? are you getting excited or nervous or both yet?

Re: Its a Small world after all
 

Oh, I had an amazing time, didn't want her to leave :(
I dont find it stressfull normally, the only stress was self inflicted as I wanted it to be perfect and stressfree for her, as she has just had treatment for breast cancer so I was imagining her to be a bit more fragile than normal, and I put myself in a position before she even arrived as a kind of care giver.
I didn't need to though, as she is stronger and healthier than I thought she would be.
We did loads of going out plus also had some normal family time at home.
It was the first time she has seen my youngest and they bonded straight away.
As for tips, I would say to have a rough plan before they arrive. With all my family, I emailed them weeks in advance with suggestions of things to do, how long travelling time was between places to visit, what to do once there, plus day trips, places to eat etc. Once I got an agenda from them, I did a bit of an itinary. Didn't need to do this so much with my sis that has just left as she is almost German and therefore very efficient and organised! She sent me a spead sheet and I just helped put it into action!
Got to go now as really busy at work but will be back soon.

Re: Its a Small world after all
 

I think it would be less stressful with my sister and her family than with my parents.

Re: Its a Small world after all
 

I so know what you mean. My dad has just left from a visit as well and while it was really nice having him here! Well, as you know hard work or what. He is 74 now so have the old age thing to deal with as well i.e. incredibly opinionated, not shy in letting everyone know his opinions and being very embarrassing in restaurants!:o There is one really nice restaurant we took him too and I am not a 100% sure we can go back there again, well at least for a while so they dont reconigse us!:eek: Its funny what you say as well re them getting up so often in the night. My dad was exactly the same except he used to get up in the middle of the night to have showers when he had already had three during the day anyway! But it was nice to have him and I shouldnt really complain as in the five years have been here, here is our first proper visitor!!!!!

Its a Small world after all
 

I get it up a lot at night..........

A friend of my school days lives less than 100 kms away from us.........found him by pure chance via someone elses email.

He's a huge man, and I mean big! But a nice chappie with it!

Re: Its a Small world after all
 

On our first holiday to NZ we went up the cable car in Queenstown , we were walking around when we heard someone call my sons name. There was his teacher and her children who were similar age to my children! We were living in Singapore at the time!

Another holiday we flew to Cairns dumped our stuff in hotel room went down to pool and there was a girl in same yr as my daughter

We seemed to bump into school friends on most holidays in Asia- it was such a small world!

Not long after we moved to Singapore we went out for sunday lunch and I kept thinking I knew thw voice of person behind me, eventually looked and there was a lady who came to our wedding , she was from the church we went to as children and got married in. She was visiting her daughter who lived in Singapore too and had just had a baby!

Re: Its a Small world after all
 

Oh thank god for that, at least I know now that its not just my Dad thats like that....oh dear about the restaurant, didnt have that problem (yet!!!) but I get what you mean about the opinionated, my dad didnt get why the kids wear hats in the sun...and when I was explaining about sunburn, skin cancer etc, he just didnt get it...'the sun never did me any harm' was the kind of response I got...so I kind of gave up the argument as you cant win

Re: Its a Small world after all
 

it really is a small world, you run away to live the other side of the world and people still find you:D

Re: Its a Small world after all
 

Trust you:p might have guessed you would say this:rofl: but at least you made me laugh when I got into work...that gets the day of to a better start

Re: Its a Small world after all
 

Whilst at the Northern tip i bumped into a guy who lived 5 miles from me in the UK, he recognised the soccer shirt!! Didn't know him, but out of 70 people at the lighthouse what are the odds???

Re: Its a Small world after all
 

When at a business meeting in 1999 in Charlotte, North Carolina, we had some Brits over from our UK division. I ended up sitting opposite one of them when we had an evening meal out all together. The usual conversation ensued:

Me: Where are you from?
Him: C______

Me: Really? Me too! Where abouts in C______?
Him: G______

Me: Too spooky, I am as well! OK whereabouts in G_____?
Him: B_____ Road

Me: Uh... me too. (by this time the conversation had got very quiet around the table and everyone was looking at us!)
Him: Weird... that is really bizarre

Me: Definitely. So where on B_____ Road?
Him: Between the petrol station and C_____ Avenue

Me: (looking at each other in disbelief by now) Me too...
Him: What house number?

Me: nnn
Him: Oh, so the odd side of the street (our street is separated down the middle for school districts)

Then the conversation went on as usual and others started talking too. Me and the chap are about 10 years apart, too, so wouldn't have bumped in to each other at school, though, and hadn't known each other when growing up. But he grew up 7 houses down, other side of the road.

However... apparently our parents all knew each other, and I completely forgot to tell mine about this chance meeting.

One week later my parents went to a garden party at the other parents' house. The mum came rushing up to my Mum, shouting "Did you hear what happened to your daughter?!" :lol: Talk about a shock! :rofl: