El otro Niko

Abby told me to look for Niko - and so, I did. After going through security I was waiting at my gate reading Harry Potter y el misterio del principe when I remembered to look for Niko. Niko is a fellow Middlebury Study Abroad Program participant, and though I had never met him, he knows Abby from Middlebury. To be honest, I was mostly banking on the fact that he would recognize me because he knew Abby. I looked for around for the description I had been given - an Asian boy wearing glasses, a little taller than me - and sure enough, in the row of seats adjacent to mine there was a vaguely Asian-looking kid with glasses. He was sitting with his back to me, so I couldn't discern his exact facial features or his height, but he seemed college-age and definitely had glasses.

"Are you Niko?" I ventured hesitantly. He looked over, surprised, and said "Yes, Nico." I smiled in relief - company! We both stood up, and I introduced myself.

"Hi, I'm Zoe. You know my twin, Abby Karp, from Middlebury. She said to say hi!" I shook his hand, wondering why he looked a bit perplexed. "Where are you studying in Chile?"

"Universidad del Desarrollo," he replied. "Huh, where do I know her..."

I responded with the requisite, "Cool," adding that I was studying in La Serena. He had a Spanish accent of some sort, which made me envious. He seemed like he would be fluent in Spanish. He seemed like he wanted to sit down, so I motioned for him to join me. Nico obliged, still musing, "How do I know Zoe..."

"No, Abby!" I corrected him. "I'm Zoe - you would know my sister, Abby."
"Oh, oh, right. Abby... I don't think I know her."
"You are Niko, right?
"Nicolás, but I go by Nico, yes. I still can't think of an Abby."
"Huh. What are you studying?"
"Engineering."
"Oh cool! [I definitely overuse "cool".] So do you know Will? Will Lones? He studies architecture, and maybe engineering."

Poor Nico looked quite mystified. I clarified - "He's also studying in Chile with our program. He'll be in La Serena."

Nico seemed a bit sketched out. At this point, I was feeling a bit embarrassed for Abby - it's always awkward when you think you're mutually acquainted but it turns out they don't remember you. She must have overstated the extent of their relationship. I said I would ask Abby the context from which she knew him, and he seemed relieved. I called Abby, and after short hellos, I asked how she knew Niko. She asked if I had found him, and I said yes, but he didn't remember her. She said, "We had Spanish class together!"

I relayed this to him, and Nico's brows furrowed and he shook his head. To Abby, I said, "Nope." So she added, "I always talked with Ryan."

I tried this one out on Nico. "She always talked with Ryan? Ryan Brewster?" He grinned sheepishly accompanied by a shrug, saying he still couldn't think of an Abby.

At this point, Abby laughs, and informs me, "Bo, you must have the wrong Niko!"

That's right, folks. I have not been randomly misspelling Niko. I had found Nico, but I was supposed to find Niko.

So I turned to Nico and asked, "Wait, where do you go to school...?" And of course, he answered, "Universidad del Desarrollo."

I felt like a fool. I apologized a lot, saying that I had found the wrong Niko. I explained the confusion, and we both laughed. We chatted for a while, and Chilean-Nico was remarkably unfazed by my randomly knowing his name and having a conversation with him. He's from Santiago, and in his second year studying engineering at his university. He spoke English fluently because for years he went to an international school in Austria. He was in the US to visit his older brother in Chicago for two weeks.

He told me about a bit of Chilean slang, saying that I could recognize if someone was a native Chilean speaker because they'd say "weon" every other word. [A Chilean equivalent of dude and/or a way to say anything.] He gave me travel tips on places to visit and the best times to do so. He was really quite friendly, but I still felt the need to keep apologizing for my mistake randomly throughout the conversation. We talked for about 15 minutes more (with me randomly interspersing Spanish words into dialogue to get a bit of last-minute practice in).

When rows were being called, we got up to board. Walking over to the line, I saw a kid with glasses who definitely looked more Asian than Nico. I didn't really want to ask if this kid was also Niko, in fear of finding another Niko imposter. However, as Nico got in line and I waited for my row to be called, I asked. Lo and behold! The correct Niko. A more normal introductory conversation ensued.

The adventures are beginning!