The Small World of Expatriates

Here's a sample of a conversation I had with a guy called Phil yesterday, at a colleague's party:

Phil: "It's so weird. Every expat seems to know each other here in Shanghai."

Me: "I know! I used to be jealous of how tight-knit immigrant communities were in Montreal. Italians or Chinese, for instance... They all seem to know each other."

Phil: "Erm. Wait a minute. You're from Montreal?"

Me: "Yeah! You too?"

Phil: "Yeah!"

Me: "Coudonc, t'es-tu francophone?!"

Phil: "Ben oui!"

So I got out my business card, and handed it to him, one Quebecois to another.

Phil: "Wow. Your last name is Roy?!"

Me: "Yeah... Oh. You too?"

Phil: "Yeah!"

Me: "Is your name..."

Phil: "My name is Philippe Roy."

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I met a Quebecois in Shanghai who has the exact same name as my brother.