在北京的经历让我觉得“世界真小”！

I couldn't believe it when I asked their addresses.
当我得知他们住址的时候简直惊呆了。
Turns out, they lived just down the street from me in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
他们在密歇根州的家离我很近。
But I'd met them in Beijing.
但我在北京才见到他们。
I'd arrived in China in 2005 to intern for China Daily. 
我在2005年来中国日报做实习记者。
I was assigned to cover an interpretive dance performance created to honor American missionary Minnie Vautrin (1886-1941), who risked her life to save ten thousand Chinese women during the Nanjing Massacre.
当时我的任务是报道一场舞蹈表演，为了纪念在南京大屠杀期间，冒着生命危险保护了上万中国女性的美国传教士明妮·魏特琳女士。
The show's organizers had invited some of her living relatives to attend the rehearsal.
演出方邀请了她的一些亲属参加彩排。
I ended my interview with them by confirming their cities of residence. They not only lived a few houses down from me in Mount Pleasant but also worked as administrators at the university I was attending.
在采访结束时，我询问了他们的地址，结果发现他们不仅住得离我很近，而且还在我上过的大学工作。
We were astounded by the coincidence. We agreed to meet up in Michigan but never got around to it. 
我们都对这种巧合震惊了，还约好在密歇根州见面，但我迄今尚未赴约。
I'd never heard of Vautrin before arriving in China. But I immediately came to understand why she's hailed as a hero in China.
来中国之前，我从未听说过魏特琳女士。但那天我立刻了解到她为何成为中国的英雄。
The missionary and educator, who's known in China as the "Goddess of Mercy", first arrived in China in 1912 and later became dean of the Nanking Jinling Women's College. She repelled Japanese invaders from the school in 1937, during the six-week siege in which 300,000 unarmed Chinese were killed and over 20,000 women were raped.
这位传教士和教育者被中国人称为“观音菩萨”。她于1912年来到中国，之后成为金陵女子大学的校长。在1937年的南京大屠杀期间，她屏退了日军入侵学校。
Vautrin personally patrolled the school to fend off any attempts to attack the women inside.

她在学校巡逻，排除一切攻击女性避难者的可能。
She declared: "Whoever wants to go through this gate will have to do so over my dead body." And she meant it.
她表示：“想进学校大门就必须从我的尸体上踩过去。”
However, largely because of the horror she experienced during that time, she committed suicide soon after returning to the United States following a nervous breakdown.
然而，经历了战争创伤的她在返回美国后精神失常，最终选择结束自己的生命。
Turns out, she was also buried in the same county in which I lived and attended university. I also planned to visit her grave but, again, never got around to it.
她的墓地就在我曾经居住和上大学的地方。我曾想去祭拜她，但至今未能成行。
These incredible coincidences indeed seemed to point to the truth of the old adage, "It's a small world after all."
这些难以置信的巧合似乎印证了“这个世界真小”。
That said, I was again absolutely shocked by another unlikely encounter about two weeks after I returned to Beijing in 2006.
还有一次让我特别震惊的偶遇也发生在北京。那是2006年，我刚回到北京后两周。
I was sitting outside a bar on the main street of the capital's Sanlitun when I heard a conspicuously surprised voice say, "Erik?"
当时我坐在北京三里屯酒吧街的一家酒吧外，突然听到有人惊讶地叫我：“艾瑞克？”
I turned around and was astonished to see a fellow member of my high school newspaper's editorial board.
我回头一下就惊呆了：对方居然是我高中时期校报的编委会同僚。
I hadn't seen Brady in about half a decade, since I'd moved away from Midland, Michigan, which borders Mount Pleasant. 
自从我搬家后，我们大约有五年没见了，
And I had to study his face for some time to make sure I really was looking at who I thought I was looking at. I was.
我盯着他的脸半天，才确认他真是Brady.
It happened that Brady was doing a short study-abroad program at the university across from my workplace.
Brady参加了短期海外研究项目，就在中国日报对面的大学里。
I didn't have Facebook back then. But we've since connected on the platform.
当时我还没有Facebook账号，不过后来我俩就在Facebook上联系了。
Indeed, it's not only a small world after all, but it's also getting smaller, especially as such connecting technologies as social media advance.
随着社交媒体的发展，这个世界变得越来越小了。
Through Facebook, I came to learn I have distant relatives from Sweden who live in Shanghai. I've considered contacting them but haven't yet.
通过Facebook，我了解到有瑞典的远房亲戚住在上海，但至今我还没联系他们。
We've all heard of the theory of "six degrees of separation", also known as "six handshakes", which suggests every human is linked by six or fewer social connections. That is, friends of friends of friends …
我们都听说过“六度空间理论”，就是你和任何一个陌生人之间所间隔的人不会超过六个。
However, this concept, which began in academia and later leaked into popular culture, is largely regarded as an urban legend. 
然后这个由学术界兴起又进入流行文化的理论也就是个都市传奇。
Empirical studies supporting the idea have been conducted but also criticized for their methodologies.
经验主义支持这个理论但又被质疑其方法论。
Either way, as the world shrinks and China's prominence continues to rise, I expect to encounter more unlikely encounters, especially in Beijing.
但无论如何，随着地球村变小，中国快速发展，我期待再发生一些偶遇，特别是在北京。