Bump into

(New Chums Beach, Coromandel)

It wasn’t until I did my TEFL course in January 2009 that I realised how difficult it is to teach (and learn) English. I had always assumed that being a native English speaker it would be easy. It only took me a day to realise that I had no idea why I said things in the order I did and I could only reason that ‘it sounds right’ or ‘that’s just the way it is’!

Trying to explain ‘bump into’’, or for that matter, any phrasal verb, to a group of intermediate students was hard without any experience. Not only did they not know the words I wanted to use to describe the act of ‘bumping into’. The Cambridge Dictionary defines ‘bump into’ as ‘to meet someone you know when you have not planned to meet them’.

I bumped into an old friend yesterday when we were walking to New Chums Beach in the Coromandel and her and her husband were just leaving. We are not even supposed to be in NZ anymore (our flight via Santiago was moved post-earthquake) and I had expected to not see her as they had just gotten married the previous weekend. You expect to bump into friends if you live in the same city but bumping into my friend on a remote beach was very random.

I would have once said that one of the hard and fast rules for ‘bump into’ would be that it’s accidental but when it happens when the chances are one in a million I can’t help but think that fate has a little bit to play in it.

I like that life can still surprise me.

Have you bumped into an old friend recently?

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