Seamless Services?: Connecting with former classmates halfway around the world

Monday, March 9, 2009

Connecting with former classmates halfway around the world

Rosa flew to Australia to study at the University of Melbourne for a semester. She wants to immerse herself in another culture and share her experiences. Initially she was disappointed because of the challenge of getting access to the Internet. Then she discovered free wireless at the public library near her apartment. She and Jenn are starting a food blog to tell about some of their culinary excursions: kangaroo and chorizo.

The distance doesn't break connections with former classmates. Monday morning after a Sunday NCAA game, I opened this email from Rosa:

Check this out:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=290672460
Ali is # 5. You can see him in the video. Pretty amazing that he's in the NCAA tournament. I think this has been his dream since he was 8.

Rosa knows about Ali's dream because they were first grade classmates in Pullman, Washington but both moved away from Pullman several years ago.

ST. LOUIS -- Northern Iowa shared the Missouri Valley regular-season title with Creighton. The Panthers celebrated alone after winning the conference tournament.
Ali Farokhmanesh scored eight of the Panthers' 12 points in overtime, helping the top seed overcome an Illinois State rally fueled by tournament MVP Osiris Eldridge in a 60-57 victory in the championship game Sunday.
"The way that game felt, somebody was going to have to do something," said coach Ben Jacobson, whose team was picked to finish sixth in the conference before the season. "Ali came up big. He comes through for us."

Networks now make it possible for us to stay connected even though time and space intervene. Seeing Ali's last name - Farokhmanesh - reminded me fondly of the cultural diversity that Kristi Rennebohm Franz celebrated in her first-grade classroom.