Unfamiliarity breeds conversations

Have you ever found yourself straying in a crowd or a party where you knew absolutely nobody? Have you ever ended up being in a place where there are a dozen faces around you have never seen before? This happens to most of us, let’s admit it. And most of the times, it’s really not a nice feeling to be in the company of strangers who have no idea about who you are. And if you’re lucky, really lucky, you might actually make new friends by getting to know the strangers.

Let me brief you about my recent experience at a birthday party where I knew nobody except my husband who was supposedly busy with his group of familiar people abandoning me like a lost animal. (Lol! Not that he didn’t care but he simply couldn’t stick around with all his friends pulling his side). Anyway, it so happened that twenty minutes passed after my arrival and I had found not a single soul to talk with. I stared, gaped, gawked, ogled, watched, scrutinized and examined at everything I could; the kids running around, the food being displayed, the ladies watching over the kids, the men cracking jokes and a few more ladies sitting like clueless aliens (Like me!)

Forty minutes passed. My vocal chords seemed to scream, I have to talk with somebody pleaseeeee. I noticed a young girl of twenty something to the right of me and an aunty (I’ll call her aunty cos she had a kid and she looked forty something) to my left. I didn’t know either of them; I had never seen either of them. In fact, I didn’t even know why they were there (for the cake of course). The point is, even though I didn’t know them, I did strike a conversation with them to pass the rest of the time until my husband gave the relief signal of leaving the place. I chattered, I ranted and I listened to them to the same.
It was a forgettable party which taught me a lesson about striking a conversation with strangers just to pass the time. Sometimes, you just can’t sit doing nothing when there is a frenzy going on around you. You just can’t walk away from the party even though you are bored to death. What should you do if you find yourself stuck in a place with strangers for a long time when you simply can’t stare into their faces forever?

a. Just find someone who is equally unoccupied and bored like you.
b. Talk and chatter all the while. If you are a talker, then talk about anything that comes up – the climate, the movies, the latest car, etc.
c. Remember, you don’t have to see them again. So go ahead and share your darkest secret if you want to and if it will help you pass the time.
d. Age no bar, don’t look for people of your age which will only minimize your chances of being around a chatty person.

If you can think of any more ideas to kill time at a place with unknown people, do write below..