As annoying as certain aspects of it are, there are some big advantages to facebook.

One of my colleagues at work actually runs a side business on facebook from his cubicle. Given the current state of things in the office, his facebook constructed business is probably bringing in more money these days than his day job.

It has helped me too: having studied in international schools, and in different countries, I have friends all over the place. But thanks to facebook, I at least know where they are based and have a means of getting in touch with them. In February, I located my old colleague Johanna in Sydney and we met up for a drink. So when I found out I would be going to Minneapolis, something in my brain clicked- didn’t Jared’s facebook profile indicate he was living there?

After a few wall-to-wall exchanges, I found myself on the other side of the planet, having a drink in a bar with Jared, in Minnesota’s great metropolis. We had studied together in Budapest some five years earlier. I struggled to believe that five years had passed since we finished out MAs. five years is a long time, but I remember everything about that year with hyper clarity. I didn’t actually know Jared too well that year. well, in Budapest we all knew each other to some degree, but he was always more a friend of a friend (zack) than a close friend of mine. I have a funny memory of him from one evening towards the end of the year. my friend yaelle was visiting from paris and we had gone to one of those out door Hungarian courtyard bars. Jared stumbled by, smiling from a nice evening out drinking and smoking with mates. He sat down and entertained us for a good 45 minutes before trundling off on his way.

And five years on we met again in a Minneapolis parking lot. He drove me around the small centre of the city before taking me to a bar to catch up on news. After three days of attempting to communicate with people with whom I have absolutely nothing in common, speaking with Jared was like a breath of reality, or at least, my reality. Strange how after five years, I still have so much in common, not only with him, but with all those I studied with in Hungary. I am not sure if it was the recruiting process, or the combination of intensity and shared experience that shaped us into intellectually similar beings. but i know my year in hungary was one of the most important in my life, and that many of my most valued friendships come from that time. and that where ever i go or end up, my deep love and respect for budapest will always be there.