Hi guys, welcome Amanda from One Happy Panda! I love Amanda’s blog, she always has happy posts with fabulous pictures accompanying them!
Good morning every body! It’s Amanda here, from One Happy Panda, guest blogging since Amber is out this week.
Over at OHP I try and talk about things both material and immaterial that make me happy. And this weekend when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to guest blog about, it struck me that one of the things that makes me happiest is meeting all kinds of new, awesome, and occasionally crazy people in Columbus, Ohio, where I live. Which prompts me to ask you all:
Do you talk to strangers?
I never used to speak to people I didn’t know directly unless they addressed me. But then one day on the city bus- gotta love that public transportation- a lady sat down next to me and did something really weird. She talked to me. I’m pretty sure everyone who’s ever been on a city bus knows the usual drill for sitting next to a stranger: smile at them when you sit down, then immediately look away and pretend they aren’t there. Sit on the edge of your seat so as not to invade their space. Play with your ipod, cell phone, whatever. But above all: don’t.bug.them.
So naturally I was a pretty surprised when this lady just starts chatting with me about the weather and what I was up to that day, and about what classes I am taking and what have you. But you know what? I actually enjoyed talking to her. She was nice, and she made me smile. She loved my glasses (bright turquoise, thank you) and I loved her scarf (purple with polka dots). And for whatever reason, having that little chat with a total stranger totally brightened my day.
So now I try a little bit harder to make small talk with strangers, wherever I happen to be. It was awkward at first, but after awhile you learn that sitting (or standing, or walking) right next to someone and pretending they don’t exist is just as awkward. So I chat with people in the produce section at the grocery store, searching for books in the public library, waiting in line for.ev.er to use the car wash (note to self: don’t ever go to the car wash on the first nice spring day of the year). Sometimes I get to meet and chat with some pretty cool people. Sometimes I make a casual friend, even. Other times the person is a wee bit crazy or totally blows me off. But whatever the result, I always end up feeling a bit better for having reached out to another person, even if it’s just a simple “it’s a nice day outside”. And trust me, I’ve got some pretty fascinating and hilarious stories to tell, especially where the city bus in concerned.
Your turn: what are your experiences in talking with strangers? Got any funny stories about crazy people on the street? Or do you just plain prefer to be left alone?
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m usually a super social person, but when it comes to buses, planes, grocery store check-out lines, I am so not chatty. I think I give off the ‘don’t talk to me’ vibe! Especially on planes. I used to be all chatty, but now I don’t even talk to my seat mates. I start reading a book right away so they get the sign that I’m not the ‘get to know your seat mate’s life story type’.
I think it’s great to talk to other people. You never know what a simple hi could do for someone else. It could really turn their day around. I know it’s done that in the past for me!
I don’t talk to strangers – as in have an all out conversation. I do like to give compliments to random people
Hi Amber- just wanted to say thanks for the opportunity to post on your blog!
I love that we’ve already got three different positions on the whole “talk to strangers” thing
~Amanda
strangers tend to talk to me. I was at the masters on saturday, and this guy came up to talk about the golfer we were watching. turns out he was a caddy at augusta national and was pretty cool, but still. that was just strange.
since my job requires me to interview relative strangers all day every day, I have gotten better and making chit chat with random people I meet during the day. I don’t usually go out of my way to talk to strangers when I am out and about, but I don’t necessarily avoid it either. Sometimes you meet crazies when you chat up a stranger and sometimes I do try to put out that “don’t talk to me vibe” if I am not in a good mood, but all in all, I agree with you that chatting for a few minutes with a nice stranger can definitely brighten your day and make you feel a little more connected to the world around you, even if only for a moment.
Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. The other day at the nail salon and elderly woman was sitting next to me while her nails dried and she struck up a conversation with me. It was slightly odd but maybe that’s just because I was guarded?
I do make an effort to at least say “hello,” “goodbye,” “please,” or “thank you,” when people smile at me, hold doors and etc, even if they are perfect strangers. Maybe I’ll start talking to strangers more often.
I’m not big on making random conversations with strangers. The most awkward it gets is on planes flights, because if you don’t want to talk to someone, the only thing you can do is turn your ipod on.
I try to be polite, but I don’t normally strike up a conversation with strangers. One time I had this guy comment on the lace on my shirt and then he proceeded to talk about the lace on his girlfriends bra…. weird!