Talking to Strangers

I just got back to camp and went down to the lake for sunset. Upper 40s and nobody around. Was playing my guitar. Some guy showed up. I get anxious when people are around but i kept playing for a while till my fingers got cold. He ended up talking to me and was cool and offered me pizza. I was actually kinda hungry and nothing else around. Talked for a while about snowboarding out here back east, parks.

It was chill.

Idk i was stoked because at forst i was like who is this driving up, fuck i just wana play music by myself and chill. But dude was super chill. If it wasn't as cold, getting dark, and i was drinking prolly would still be talking to him.

And yes I'm high

NS members. They are cool.
People on planes; mostly boring, often its people going to meet up with siblings.
Bar counters: more than half the time they are interesting and good conversationist. The other half are depressing and whiny.
Ski lift: most dont know more words than mmh. Ive made great friends there though.
Back country skiing: high quality people that become partners pretty quick.
Homeless on the streets from whom I used to find weed: 90% of them are interesting, other 10% are crazy
Bike trails: most stoked people Ive met.

Generally, strangers are fun to talk to. Ya meet all types. People older than 40 tend to be better at conversation and more interesting. Under 40 seem very shy or purposly socially withdrawn.

writing on ns = talking to strangers


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theabortionatorAnd yes I'm high

It really sucks when you are baked and in the mood for talking, but no one answers the phone.
Campgrounds are pretty cool for meeting random people. In Kelowna, I was smoking joints at the beach and a guy came out of the dark and offered to trade some weed for Pisco liquor and invited me to join him at his camping spot. Turns out they were from Peru and travelling north america. It was a great night.

Another good one was camping in Cherryville regional grounds and gold panning the creek sand banks. Random dude starts chatting with me. He was a local prospector; told me about who owns claims and gave me information about other spots to check out. Super rad dude; we talked for hours about hikes and adventures while looking for rocks. I wish more people were like him.

This has seriously become a lost skill in today's generation. Man my grandpa could chat up anybody like they were long lost friends. I seriously don't understand how. My dad does this shit too- fuggin weirdo. I don't get it, especially cuz I'm more introvert. Skiing is about the one place I'm more of an extrovert for talking to randos. It's such a buzz kill when people just wanna be buried into their phones on lifts or wanna ride up in complete silence cuz they're weird (unless ur jamming out to music or high af cuz then it's cool lol). People these days are so into cell phones that we never have that forced moment of either awkwardness or talking in pleasant small talk. We don't communicate in meaningful ways as much as people used to and that's sad.

Lift chats are always chill if the people aren't weird. I've learned a lot about people in a short lift ride. Really enlightening sometimes. Basically like a stranger on the bus.

I will say tho....drove up to VT one year for a storm. All my friends bailed but fuck I ain't missing a 2' dump especially when it's so likely to happen. Ended up staying at some inn in the town by Smuggs (no not stowe.). Turns out it had a bar below it that happened to be a locals bar. Me and 3 other guys at the bar. One was a lifty with all sorts of fucking wild stories and he was plastered. Like when @theabortionator gets drunk and rants on NS-was fantastic. One ski patrol. And one some guy named Greg who's wife taught skiing at Smuggs. Get to talking and end up skiing with this dude the next day. This is important cuz that's wayyyyy out of character for me. Tells me that he grew up out west and traveled around a lot and lived in all sorts of ski towns before settling down in VT. Ended up skiing most of the day with him, which was incredibly difficult to keep up with considering his skill level and mine at the time. That was probably the best skiing day I've ever had because of the people, the atmosphere, and nuking snow all day long. I actually started the day with some guy who goes "yo wanna ride up. I was supposed to ski with my friend but he's not here and I'm not waiting in these conditions". No friends on a pow day literally. This guy was offering to film me and what not too lol cool man. He was all stoked cuz Robin's run was open for the first time this year per him so I followed him with zero clue where I was going. It was DEEP. I ended up eating shit and lost him but thanks for a sick first run if you've got a NS account.

theabortionatorAnd yes I'm high

Hey I came to the conclusion today that getting stoned is basically meditation on steroids.

HypeBeastThis has seriously become a lost skill in today's generation. Man my grandpa could chat up anybody like they were long lost friends. I seriously don't understand how. My dad does this shit too- fuggin weirdo. I don't get it, especially cuz I'm more introvert. Skiing is about the one place I'm more of an extrovert for talking to randos. It's such a buzz kill when people just wanna be buried into their phones on lifts or wanna ride up in complete silence cuz they're weird (unless ur jamming out to music or high af cuz then it's cool lol). People these days are so into cell phones that we never have that forced moment of either awkwardness or talking in pleasant small talk. We don't communicate in meaningful ways as much as people used to and that's sad.

Lift chats are always chill if the people aren't weird. I've learned a lot about people in a short lift ride. Really enlightening sometimes. Basically like a stranger on the bus.

I will say tho....drove up to VT one year for a storm. All my friends bailed but fuck I ain't missing a 2' dump especially when it's so likely to happen. Ended up staying at some inn in the town by Smuggs (no not stowe.). Turns out it had a bar below it that happened to be a locals bar. Me and 3 other guys at the bar. One was a lifty with all sorts of fucking wild stories and he was plastered. Like when @theabortionator gets drunk and rants on NS-was fantastic. One ski patrol. And one some guy named Greg who's wife taught skiing at Smuggs. Get to talking and end up skiing with this dude the next day. This is important cuz that's wayyyyy out of character for me. Tells me that he grew up out west and traveled around a lot and lived in all sorts of ski towns before settling down in VT. Ended up skiing most of the day with him, which was incredibly difficult to keep up with considering his skill level and mine at the time. That was probably the best skiing day I've ever had because of the people, the atmosphere, and nuking snow all day long. I actually started the day with some guy who goes "yo wanna ride up. I was supposed to ski with my friend but he's not here and I'm not waiting in these conditions". No friends on a pow day literally. This guy was offering to film me and what not too lol cool man. He was all stoked cuz Robin's run was open for the first time this year per him so I followed him with zero clue where I was going. It was DEEP. I ended up eating shit and lost him but thanks for a sick first run if you've got a NS account.

Both of my grandfathers can chat up a stranger like it's nothing too. Is it a generational thing? Or is it an age thing? Or is it both? I've noticed that older people tend to give fewer shits and are less self-conscious and have more self-confidence than the average young person. I wonder if our generation will become like that when we're older. Or maybe phones and the internet have poisoned our brains and we're doomed to be introverts forever.

BrandoComandoBoth of my grandfathers can chat up a stranger like it's nothing too. Is it a generational thing? Or is it an age thing? Or is it both? I've noticed that older people tend to give fewer shits and are less self-conscious and have more self-confidence than the average young person. I wonder if our generation will become like that when we're older. Or maybe phones and the internet have poisoned our brains and we're doomed to be introverts forever.

I started going out of my way at one point to talk to people and get more comfortable with it. I'm still weird and awkward sometomes, especially if feeling shitty or anxious, but generally pretty good with people. I also a bunch of summer travling around to music/festivals. Wandered around a bunch, talked to a bunch of different people, hitched rides etc.

Idk it's def something that can be picked up. If you're super introverted you might never be ridiculously social, but you can get better at it pretty easily if you care enough to.

People definitely talked to people more. With technology even older people can be weird. Dude chilling at the bar brought his ipad to setup and play some candy crush type of game. Bars are generally pretty social places.

Maybe not the best example but I've def notice much less social engagement with a lot of people. It's refreshing when you talk to somebody interesting for a bit.

Yall ever worked shitty jobs but had co-workers way older than you? This is also kinda in the same boat I'd say cuz it can go both ways but its enlightening to say the least....Like I work with a mid-60s year old vietnam vet who has all sorts of wild takes on shit, its interesting lol

theabortionatorI started going out of my way at one point to talk to people and get more comfortable with it. I'm still weird and awkward sometomes, especially if feeling shitty or anxious, but generally pretty good with people. I also a bunch of summer travling around to music/festivals. Wandered around a bunch, talked to a bunch of different people, hitched rides etc.

Idk it's def something that can be picked up. If you're super introverted you might never be ridiculously social, but you can get better at it pretty easily if you care enough to.

People definitely talked to people more. With technology even older people can be weird. Dude chilling at the bar brought his ipad to setup and play some candy crush type of game. Bars are generally pretty social places.

Maybe not the best example but I've def notice much less social engagement with a lot of people. It's refreshing when you talk to somebody interesting for a bit.

Totally agree. Like every skill, talking to strangers gets better with practice.

You brought up a good point with music and festivals. I made so many cool new friends at a festival a few weeks ago. Everyone was there to have a good time. There wasn't any reception, so it forced everyone to talk to each other instead of being on social media. That, combined with being cooped up inside for a year due to covid, meant everyone was so friendly and eager to talk. It was such a friendly and refreshing atmosphere.

I would love to see human interaction bounce back once all this pandemic stuff is finally over. I think everyone benefits immensely from talking and interacting with people.

DeebieSkeebiesYall ever worked shitty jobs but had co-workers way older than you? This is also kinda in the same boat I'd say cuz it can go both ways but its enlightening to say the least....Like I work with a mid-60s year old vietnam vet who has all sorts of wild takes on shit, its interesting lol

I’m 24 and I work with mostly people in their 40s-50s so I feel this heavy lmao, not a shitty job but still.

im way more comfortable talking to people nearly twice my age than I am people my own age, definitely kinda sucks, makes making new friends almost impossible as well.

daannnnieelI’m 24 and I work with mostly people in their 40s-50s so I feel this heavy lmao, not a shitty job but still.

im way more comfortable talking to people nearly twice my age than I am people my own age, definitely kinda sucks, makes making new friends almost impossible as well.

Last part of your post is painfully relatable haha. I'm 25. We're not the most sociable generation but if you at least make an effort, then thats good enough. Its still a two way street to make friends and the other party involved has to make an effort too so don't feel bad about feeling like you're talking to a brick wall.

I've some interesting strangers ovee the years, mostly related to various jobs. Met a giy named Bruce last week who is a retured university prof and a worlds leading expert on bobcats apparently, he was a good conversation for about an hour and I will certainly be talking with him again bith out of personal interest and work. Few years ago I gave a lesson to an Episcopal seminary student so we had a decent theology discussion on the chair. Also lived next door to a guy for a summer who went by Spear. He was an old river guy who never left the valley as he got older, was always good for some interesting takes on small town life.

yeah lol this all is way to relatable. haven't hung out with anyone my age since pretty much the start of covid

daannnnieelI’m 24 and I work with mostly people in their 40s-50s so I feel this heavy lmao, not a shitty job but still.

im way more comfortable talking to people nearly twice my age than I am people my own age, definitely kinda sucks, makes making new friends almost impossible as well.

@eheath

DeebieSkeebiesLast part of your post is painfully relatable haha. I'm 25. We're not the most sociable generation but if you at least make an effort, then thats good enough. Its still a two way street to make friends and the other party involved has to make an effort too so don't feel bad about feeling like you're talking to a brick wall.

I’m so socially awkward now I feel like I am the brick wall most of the time. Been so caught up in injuries, travelling and work I don’t even know how to talk to people in general I guess ahaha

Stopped by Crystal for a couple days. Ended up riding the gondola one of them but the smoke was too shot to hike. Met a cool older couple and talked to them for a while. Met a cool dude at the bar at the airport who would have bought me a a drink if the airline had booze. Got stranded in some bullshit in Charlotte NC and me and this army dude YOLO'd and taxid to a bar and got hammered. Was a cool vibe because he hadn't gotten food before they closed at airport so I split my fries and gave him part of my burger. We got a long great.

Idk, had some cool discussions and met some awesome people that I will likely never see again but were still worthwile connections and I'm happy I talked to them.

I was on a road trip through Yellowstone and Grand Teton and was looking for a place to crash for the night in John D Rockefeller park, I couldn't find an open campsite so I decided to just ask these dudes if I could share a site with them. They were traveling around in a old campervan and were going to different Jam band shows and it turned out we had even been at a couple of the same shows. Super chill dudes and we just got drunk and watched a campfire and shot the shit. I woke up hungover as fuck at 6 am, rolled out of the back of my car to puke and drove out of the site.

Had many great weekday chairlift rides on Schlasman's with crusty old Bridger dudes, always great to share a bowl and chat about what is skiing good and the good ol days of skinny skis and how crazy newschool skiing is.

You have funny posts hehe.

I legit keep my phone on airplane mode in public settings and make a strong attempt to make people uncomfortable just by striking up a harmless conversation. The amount of younger people who can't have a normal fucking conversation is pretty pathetic. Generally people who are 50 or older usually like a good chat. But yea, cellphones have killed the art of conversation.

TRVP_ANGELwriting on ns = talking to strangers


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I like talking to old women who have no more chill left and curse like sailors

Go work a job in the retail/service industry and you’ll learn how to converse real fast

hdubsGo work a job in the retail/service industry and you’ll learn how to converse real fast

I swear I have work mode and social modeand they switch on and off as soon as I clock in. Can chat people up for work no problem but ask me to mingle at a social gathering and I'll be hiding out at a table in the corner just silently watching everyone.

r00kieI swear I have work mode and social modeand they switch on and off as soon as I clock in. Can chat people up for work no problem but ask me to mingle at a social gathering and I'll be hiding out at a table in the corner just silently watching everyone.

I mean to be fair I’m the same way. Once I mellow out tho it’s smooth sailing

I like talking to strangers but I’ll rarely start conversation unless there is something that I notice and want to ask.

Airports are dope for this. It’s such a cesspool of random people from literally everywhere in the world. I used to do long layovers in Heathrow a few times a year and I loved talking to people, you meet the most random people with such interesting lives. Everyone knows that it’s time sensitive so people are generally open to talk because they are prolly going to dip in an hour or two. No specific stories, but lots of cool people nonetheless.

I also live in a ski town, so I kinda get bored of the same ol ‘hill was firing today’ ‘blower pow’ blah blah blah. It’s nice to talk to people who have never lived near water/trees/mountains, let alone know what skiing is. Vv refreshing.