Carmen Guido of Castlegar brought her friend Marta Geli, who lives in Italy, to her Rotary club dinner on Aug. 21. The two went to school together in Chile but hadn’t seen each other in 50 years. Guido found her friend through Facebook and the two were able to meet up when Geli travelled to Canada.

“I found her on Facebook,” said Guido. “We wrote and exchanged stories about our lives. She married an Italian and I a Canadian. I invited her to visit me, so she did and after 50 years we met at the Vancouver Airport.”

Even after half a century, Guido said she recognized her friend right away.

“She looks the same to me, and the bond we once had has not been broken,” she said. “We laugh as much, talk as much, tease each other as much as we did when we were 16. Regardless of the outside changes that the years have made – we are the same and age is just a number.”