I was an exchange student in the US and my host parents all of a sudden went through a divorce and I had to move out. So I moved in with another family for the "cool down" period (they ended up wanting me to stay, best thing that ever happened to me), but my new host family were going away for the weekend and couldn't take me as the trip had been planned ages ago and they didn't know they would have a student with them. They knew another family had expressed interest in hosting, so they asked if I was okay with staying there for the weekend. The family's daugther was in my gym class, so I sort of knew her.

Now, I'm Norwegian and back then I was painfully shy. Also Norwegians don't do small talk, talk to strangers and take a very long time to open up to people. Well my host parents drive me there after school on the friday and the girl "Kate" comes running out of the house like a typical American teen girl being all excited and hugs me and drags me into the house up to her room where we would be sharing A BED. I was horrified I had to spend the whole weekend with this very outgoing, huggy and upbeat person.

Well, by the end of the weekend we were best friends. She is the most wonderful and open and unselfish person I have ever met. She brought out the best in me and I have solely her to thank for being a very social and warm person now (though she'll make fun of me for being a robot). We don't live in the same country obviously, but we are like sisters.

I was maid of honour at her wedding last summer in Ireland (she married an Irish guy) and I am now dating her husband's best man! The cliche makes my unromantic Norwegian cold eyes roll, haha