Oh the Places You’ll Go, Oh the People You’ll Meet

So you know those TV commercials for amazing resorts that most of us have gotten to the point of ignoring because we just assume we’ll never lay down the cash to go there or they’re somewhere far, far away that just seems out of reach? If you need a refresher, check out this one: http://www.atlantis.com/thingstodo/waterpark.aspx

Well, here’s the story of how I ended up spending the best day of the summer with a stranger I met the day before at the last place I thought I would ever be.

The story starts on the plane from Atlanta to Nassau. For the first time for as long as I can remember, I was sitting in a middle seat (rather than the usual window seat). A young man sat next to me, who I probably would have best described as a college age individual. His name was Zak, and I don’t remember what first got us talking or what it was even about, but by the end of the plane ride, anyone else would have thought Zak and I were close friends traveling together to the Bahamas.

To give some context, Zak is a recent Georgia Tech grad in Industrial Design (as a MechE, I definitely appreciated that). Zak and I talked lots about engineering & design and bonded over our mutual experiences living with and around engineers (if you’ve lived with engineers, you know how “unique” that experience can be). Zak had recently gotten a job working with a start-up and as a graduation celebration was heading to the Bahamas for a short vacation, staying with his friend who is currently working as a doctor there. As part of his friend’s contract working as a doctor, he was housed in a hotel on Paradise Island in the Bahamas and given a free month’s pass to the Atlantis Resort’s facilities.

At the end of the flight, Zak and I exchanged emails. We were a little lost without cell phones in the Bahamas so email seemed like the only option to get in touch. Zak didn’t know what he was going to do on Thursday while his friend had to work and I didn’t really have any plans whatsoever before my boarding time between 1 and 3 pm the next day (at that point having not been to the hotel, met my roommates, or figured out how the taxis worked). We went our separate ways at the terminal, both unsure if we would really catch up with one another on the island.

Here’s where the last blog entry I wrote fits in. That happened post airport and pre-“best summer ever” plans. Sorry for the confusion, but I suppose it’s just a testament to the spontaneity of the day.

Well, as I was writing that blog after I had met the Lifelong Learners, I emailed Zak and wasn’t really sure if he would reply. Whatever happened, I would end up on the ship by 3 pm so I was feeling pretty good. When I checked later, I was stoked to see that Zak had replied and welcomed me to come over to check out the Atlantis with him while his friend had work and I had time to chill. At this point, I was in disbelief.

A) I actually had learned what the Atlantis was at that point and how outstanding this waterpark was supposed to be (and the ticket prices…)

B) We managed to get in touch without cell phones in a foreign country!

C) I was making plans with a stranger, something that in today’s world most people wouldn’t do and I never would have expected myself to do.

To be fair though, Zak and I got to know each other on our plane ride. When you get a chance to sit down and really talk with someone without interruption for 2 hours, that’s a rare opportunity. Also, in deciding to make plans with a stranger I really had two (social) options: go out to a bar with a bunch of SASers I had talked with for probably 20 minutes in a place I was not familiar or comfortable with, or go hang out with Zach and have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the Atlantis and build on the brief and unexpected friendship that had started

Big surprise, I chose the second and I could not have had a better day. Zak and I spent the morning at Atlantis, trying every ride from the Abyss that drops you nearly straight down in a pitch-black tunnel to the Serpent Ride that winds around and passes through the shark tank at the end. We talked and laughed about how wrong we were in guessing one another’s age and grabbed lunch from a grocery store that consisted of pepperoni slices, trail mix, strawberries, and orange juice. The most random, unexpected day was by far my best.

Allison

(And Zak, if you’re reading this, thank you again! I hope you are having a blast in the Bahamas)