The People on the Bus say " ? ? ? "
One of my greatest weaknesses is that I'm shy. You'll often see me in class looking left and right for others to speak first before I slowly raise my quivering hand up. ^_^; This is bad for teaching: you must be confident and show no fear or those kids will tear you up! So I started reading a book on "shy busting" and one of the tips was to meet someone new everyday. This is a tall order for someone as shy as me, but eh, I'd give it a try. But where to meet complete strangers? Yeah, but bars and clubs aren't for me, so I turned to a quieter social hang-out: the bus.
Case #1: A middle-aged business lady.
Case #2: A 20-something office worker - male.
Case #3: A Chinese exchange student - female.
Case #4: A high school girl AND a University guy . . waiting at the bus stop near my workplace at night.
Case #5: A bunch of Grade 9 boys from the high school I'm doing my practicum at.
Case #6: First-year undergrad - female.
Closing statement: From my experience, I get the impression that males are more approachable and interested in chatting than females, at least with other men. I'm a nice guy, but I can't escape the stigma that all male strangers are dangerous. Kinda reminds me of how birds might not be as scared of humans if we hadn't been shooting at them for the past gazillion years.
Or maybe it's just the context of the bus, because I find both men and women more open to talk on campus. But on the bus, you don't know where that stranger's been. ;) Plus it's usually crammed and uncomfortable. Still, any bus ride longer than 5 minutes is boring without someone to talk to, and I wish more people would feel the same way as I do.
.
. .
. . . Does that mean I'm less shy than most people now? o_O
WAZZUPWITDAT?! ticker: RIP Nova Usagi 1981-2007. And RIP another one of my userpics (buried next to Vodafone and Guitar Samurai)!! I'm completely shocked by the news since Novas were EVERYWHERE in Japan -- so how could such a profitable company go broke? Anyway, I'm going to miss its cute commercials . . I hope the Aifuru dog isn't next!
Case #1: A middle-aged business lady.
- My Pitch: "Do all buses sound like this?" (Whenever the bus stopped, it would make these loud noises like it was about to explode)
- . . which led to . .: "I think every bus has its own tune" which led to a lively chat . . that became more and more unlively before flatlining a minute later. Bus sounds get boring fast!
Case #2: A 20-something office worker - male.
- My Pitch: "This is the bumpiest ride I've ever had!" (The bus was just lurching in the air along this usually smooth road).
- . . which led to . .: A long enjoyable discussion about work in the customer service and QA department which ended in a handshake so . .
Case #3: A Chinese exchange student - female.
- My Pitch (while studying my kanji book for the umpteenth time): "This is so hard! Can you read any of this?"
- . . which led to . .: "Of course!" XD I learned she was here to study Gemology which I never even knew existed. She said she had some sorta gem business in China. Good talk, but I had to ask ALL the questions so I got the impression that maybe she wasn't really as into our conversation as I was. ^_^;
Case #4: A high school girl AND a University guy . . waiting at the bus stop near my workplace at night.
- My Pitch: "Why is this bus taking so long??" (It was 15 minutes late)
- . . which led to . .: the girl didn't say anything beyond telling me the time, but the guy and I talked for the entire half-hour bus ride! He also went to SFU and was really interested in the teaching programme, which helped. I ended up plugging the JET programme, of course. ;) Another handshake means . .
Case #5: A bunch of Grade 9 boys from the high school I'm doing my practicum at.
- THEIR Pitch: "Look, it's Mr. Low!!" "Mr. Low!!" (I had only sat in their class once!)
- . . which led to . .: "And you are . . ?" Thankfully, they didn't mind my short-term memory as much as some teachers do. They really opened up to me about the school, their life and the barbeque on their front porch.
"So Mr. Low, why don't you have a car?"
"Um, because I'm saving up for a Nintendo Wii!"
I thought that would boost my street cred, but I got zero reaction. o_O Still . .
Case #6: First-year undergrad - female.
- My Pitch: "Whoa, is that calculus?!" *points at her textbook*
- Her: "Yeah."
Me: "First year?"
Her: "Yeah."
Me: "Is it difficult?"
Her: "No."
Me: "Really? It drove me nuts in my undergrad!!"
Her: ". . ."
Me: "Is it a prereq for something?"
Her: "Kinesiology."
Me: "I seeee."
Her: ". . ."
Me: (Please end soon, bus trip!)
Closing statement: From my experience, I get the impression that males are more approachable and interested in chatting than females, at least with other men. I'm a nice guy, but I can't escape the stigma that all male strangers are dangerous. Kinda reminds me of how birds might not be as scared of humans if we hadn't been shooting at them for the past gazillion years.
Or maybe it's just the context of the bus, because I find both men and women more open to talk on campus. But on the bus, you don't know where that stranger's been. ;) Plus it's usually crammed and uncomfortable. Still, any bus ride longer than 5 minutes is boring without someone to talk to, and I wish more people would feel the same way as I do.
.
. .
. . . Does that mean I'm less shy than most people now? o_O
WAZZUPWITDAT?! ticker: RIP Nova Usagi 1981-2007. And RIP another one of my userpics (buried next to Vodafone and Guitar Samurai)!! I'm completely shocked by the news since Novas were EVERYWHERE in Japan -- so how could such a profitable company go broke? Anyway, I'm going to miss its cute commercials . . I hope the Aifuru dog isn't next!