The young American/Irish woman I met at a Japanese Restaurant at SFO.
Patti was kind enough to drive me to SFO today and I got through security at SFO very quickly. I went to a favorite spot in the international terminal, Tomokazu. I first ordered green tea. As I drank the hot tea, I looked around at what people were eating. The guy next to me had a rice bowl with broccoli and beef, and the young woman across from me had a chicken curry bowl. There was sushi, other proteins, and noodle soups. I had already decided to eat prior to boarding and forgo the airplane meals. I had read that on an overnight flight this might help me sleep better, I don’t think it worked, but I gave it a go. I asked the young woman if she would hold my space and she kindly agreed. When I sat down again, with my beef and broccoli bowl, we started to chat.
She and I were on the same flight! The odds!!
She was returning to Paris after having spent the month of August visiting family and friends in Marin county. Her job is in marketing in the fashion industry, and during August this segment of the industry goes into ghost-town mode. Returning on September 1, she was part of La Rentrée. La Rentrée is the time in Paris when people return to work and school after the summer holiday. The holiday season, July and August, is called Les Grandes Vacances. During this time many independent businesses close. Major tourist sites like the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, and businesses in heavily trafficked tourist neighborhoods like the Marais or Saint-Germain-des-Prés stay open. Also, large retailers and chains, like Monoprix and Carrefour, remain open. However, in the residential areas which is most of Paris, cafes, bakeries, restaurants, cheese shops, butchers, boutiques, and even doctor’s offices close for the month.
This young woman’s parents are from Ireland, and she holds dual citizenship. US and Irish. She has lived abroad since high school. She has lived in Italy, Germany, and France.
She was inspired to travel for school and career by her mom and dad. Her mom initially left Ireland after university to work in Dubai. When she returned to Ireland, she met her husband, and they both relocated to the Bay Area for work and to raise a family.
As we got up to go, I finally asked her name. And she said, Sinéad. I told her I have always loved that name but that I find it difficult to spell and pronounce, she giggled.
Then I asked her what it meant, and she said, God is Gracious. I was floored. That’s what my name means, I told her.
She told me that like Jane, or Jeanne, Sinéad is a very common name in Ireland and is the equivalent of those names in other cultures.
When I googled it, I found out that the name entered the Irish language as an adaptation of the Old French name Jeanette. And that regarding a biblical connection: Jeanette itself is a diminutive of Jeanne, which stems from the Hebrew name Yohanan (the root for John, Jane, and Janet).
What I find incredible is that this young woman and I share the same name, I titled my blog that same name, and according to my biological dad, cousin and stepmom, my grandmother’s name was Jeanette (everyone called her Jean).
Synchronicities abound and give magic to life.