The allure of conversations with strangers
When I was a young woman, I used to love meeting strangers. It started when I was fifteen years old and stuck in Paris after a flight delay (story of my life, I know). We were granted a dinner and a hotel room, but since three flights were delayed at the same time, the line for getting a table in the restaurant was unbearably long.
To help things along, the head waiter suggested all us solo travellers shared tables. Had I been older, I might have balked at the idea, but since I was young and adventurous, I naturally said yes when a table for two in the smoking section opened up. What followed was one of the more interesting evenings of my life as I met a nice Turkish lawyer on his way to Madrid to argue a case. In fairness, he might have lied to me. After all, I claimed to be a first year university student. But I find that to be part of the allure of the conversations with strangers. You are free to share more than you would with people you might see again, or free to lie (as long as you can do it convincingly).
This interesting meeting opened a new world for me and for a while, I was the type of person who easily talked to strangers, searching for that good conversation again. But there seems to be some prerequisits needed for the conversations to be truly good, illuminating, interesting and entertaining. As far as I can tell, the journey has to be long: an eight hour flight or more, and usually delayed as to increase the amount of time spent away from normal life. The conversations usually occur after all other entertainment has been taken away, for instance at a flight with no movies, or at an airport after many hours of travel when your computer has run out of battery, your book/newspaper has been discarded and your frustration makes the need to share the experience with someone almost unbearable.
This unique setting of being on your way from one place to another can make you feel half-formed, as if the person you are at departure and at arrival might not be the same person you are in transit. On the journey you can explore new personalities, or share more than you would normally do with someone you'll never see again. For me, the allure can be summed up in that one instance when you know that what you shared can never be repeated, and that no matter how good the experience, part of what makes it good is that you'll never see the other person again.
Having that good conversation again in the lounge of the Philadelphia airport, where I shared my dreams with a stranger and he shared his hopes, disappointments and fears with me, almost made being delayed worth it.
To help things along, the head waiter suggested all us solo travellers shared tables. Had I been older, I might have balked at the idea, but since I was young and adventurous, I naturally said yes when a table for two in the smoking section opened up. What followed was one of the more interesting evenings of my life as I met a nice Turkish lawyer on his way to Madrid to argue a case. In fairness, he might have lied to me. After all, I claimed to be a first year university student. But I find that to be part of the allure of the conversations with strangers. You are free to share more than you would with people you might see again, or free to lie (as long as you can do it convincingly).
This interesting meeting opened a new world for me and for a while, I was the type of person who easily talked to strangers, searching for that good conversation again. But there seems to be some prerequisits needed for the conversations to be truly good, illuminating, interesting and entertaining. As far as I can tell, the journey has to be long: an eight hour flight or more, and usually delayed as to increase the amount of time spent away from normal life. The conversations usually occur after all other entertainment has been taken away, for instance at a flight with no movies, or at an airport after many hours of travel when your computer has run out of battery, your book/newspaper has been discarded and your frustration makes the need to share the experience with someone almost unbearable.
This unique setting of being on your way from one place to another can make you feel half-formed, as if the person you are at departure and at arrival might not be the same person you are in transit. On the journey you can explore new personalities, or share more than you would normally do with someone you'll never see again. For me, the allure can be summed up in that one instance when you know that what you shared can never be repeated, and that no matter how good the experience, part of what makes it good is that you'll never see the other person again.
Having that good conversation again in the lounge of the Philadelphia airport, where I shared my dreams with a stranger and he shared his hopes, disappointments and fears with me, almost made being delayed worth it.