Ole or olé? :)

I was in the locker room at the gym today in my own little world, not really thinking about anything. Spanish flooded the room as the women chatted away the evening. (side note: I think Chilean women spend more time in the locker room post-"workout" than the workout itself. They literally "roll up" with entire suitcases worth of beauty products and hair dryers etc. and spend incredible amounts of time eating fruit/snack bars and primping.)

Anyway, out of nowhere a girl asks me in plain English, "Did you go to Saint Olaf?"

First, I was taken aback by the use of English. I'm so used to using Spanish -with the exception of talking with the three other volunteers- it was borderline shocking to hear such easy-to-understand English in the locker room.

Second, she asked if I went to Olaf. She skipped the other steps in between: American, midwest, Minnesota, small colleges, etc. and asked such a narrow question that it threw me off completely. Turns out, she went to Olaf for her first year, lived in Kildahl but later transferred to Gustavus. She's here in Conce teaching English at a private English school called The Thomas Jefferson School.

I guess the reason I found this so crazy is that I've experienced Chile completely apart from anything Olaf-related. Also, Conce is not exactly a hotspot for foreigners. Most head straight to Santiago or bypass the city for Patagonia. I can count the number of gringos I've met since arriving almost 5 months ago on one hand. The fact one was an Ole (if only for a brief while) struck me as a loco coincidence. After more thought, I realize this isn't that crazy given the schools we went to and similar paths chosen/emphasis on travel/means by which to travel etc. etc. Nonetheless, it was a very weird feeling to be talking in plain English about my freshman year dorm and even playing the "Do you know so and so?" game in the locker room in Chile.

Once again I realize: Oles are everywhere. olé!!