In my previous post, I talked about my Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity experience, and how becoming a “teke” added so much value to my life. This post is the biggest example of one of those valuable moments.

One day I was lying on my hotel bed in Bangkok, browsing Facebook on my laptop, when suddenly a light-bulb flashed in my head:

“I wonder if there are any other ‘teke’s’ in Thailand?”

I while back I joined a Tau Kappa Epsilon Facebook group which was reserved for members living in New York.  I decided to post my location and see what would happen.

“It’s worth a shot,” I thought.

I posted something along the lines of, “hey there, I’m a teke currently in Thailand for a year, and I was wondering if there were any other tekes in the country. Thanks in advance.”

I didn’t know how likely it would be that I would get a response. I figured I had roughly a 40% chance of hearing back from someone.

A few days later, I would get my answer.

Two members of the group replied to me, conversing with each other about members currently in Thailand. Then one of them presented me with a name of a person I could add as a friend.

I was delighted. I didn’t expect to get such a quick response. I thanked the men that helped me, added “Tim” immediately, and we began chatting.

We talked about a variety of things: Where we lived in the U.S., the colleges we graduated from, what we were up to in Thailand, and most importantly, when we would be able to meeting up.

Tom worked in the field of politics, but it seemed to be more of a seasonal job. During his off time he traveled for months at a time. Thailand was one of his stops. He also did some teaching in the south of Thailand.

He invited me into his email group, and I was able to correspond with even more TKE members who were also in Thailand at the same time. Each man had a different field of expertise. One of them had a business in Thailand which involved fruit shakes. Another one worked full-time in a marketing position for a foreign-based company. With the addition of me, our little group grew to seven.

I was delighted before, but now I was ecstatic. Here were the fruits of my college labor finally coming to, well, fruition. Last year I was meeting tekes at various colleges, but this year I was networking with fellow tekes in Thailand, literally half-way across the planet. Amazing!

I had to wait a few months to meet them though. All the other guys were located in Bangkok, as most foreigners are in Thailand. As for me, I was 12 hours north in Chiang Rai, teaching English daily. I had school off on weekends, but I felt as if I wouldn’t have enough time to make a quick trip to Bangkok and back. It was a bit tough seeing all the other members plan weekly outings together, but I knew I would get my chance to meet them someday. I just had to be patient.

Eventually, I was on vacation from teaching, and me and Tim planned to meet in Chiang Mai. It was 4 hours away from Chiang Rai by bus, much closer than Bangkok. We would also be there during Thailand’s annual Song Kran Water Festival. Chatting in person, partying, and getting buckets of water poured over our heads. Sounded like a good time to me.

I got to Chiang Mai and met up with Tom soon after. We headed to a local club, where I met his friends for drinks. He was a congenial guy with lots of great stories to share.

That night I also met Mike, the marketer who was also on his vacation, and Fred, a teke visiting from America. Tim had to leave for Michigan the next day, so the three of us spent the day planning a mountain motorcycle trip, riding on our motorcycles though the water parades, getting constantly wet with said water, and exploring Chiang Mai. Mike even took some time to teach me how to ride a motorcycle for the first time.

Mike and Fred invited me to go with them on their four-day mountain riding trip. I said yes at first, but I declined later, since I didn’t feel confident enough in my motorcycle riding skills. So we said our goodbyes and vowed to meet again someday.

Meeting Tim, Mike, and Fred changed my perspective on travel forever. For the first time, I realized the power of being able to connect with any fellow TKE member around the world, just by posting a simple message. As I spend more time in more locations, I look forward to meeting more of my fellow brothers.