To my understanding, the tense of subordinate clauses is relative:
私は泣いている人に会った。
I met a person, who, at the time, was crying.
私は泣いていた人に会った。
I met a person, who, sometime before our meeting, was crying.
Is it however possible for the tense of a subordinate clause to be non-relative given the right context?
If one were for example to have the following conversation:
A: 留学している友達がいるよ。
I have a friend who's studying abroad.
B: ええ, 誰ですか?
Huh, who's that?
A: 覚えていないの? 一緒に旅行した時 留学している友達に会ったじゃない
- Don't you remember? When we traveled together, we met my friend, who is currently studying abroad (but might not have been at the time).
- Don't you remember? When we traveled together, we met my friend, who, at the time, was studying abroad.
Which of the above interpretations are correct?
Are there situations in which the tense of a subordinate clause is not relative to that of the main clause?