Social Question

redfeather's avatar

Do you love meeting and talking to people from other countries?

Asked by redfeather (6507points) July 18th, 2011 from iPhone

I was so much more outgoing in Italy. Maybe it was the wine. I loved talking to everyone and hearing their opinions and what they do.

Once, on a bus in Rome, my friends and I were a bit lost and I asked someone “How many more stops to Barberini?” he said,” aah… No English” and I said, “How many more stops to Barberini?” this time with an Italian accent, and he said “ah! Two!” with a huge smile on his face.

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23 Answers

john65pennington's avatar

I have also been to Italy and loved the friendly people. Italians love their children. Most went overboard to try to assist me. I speaka no Italiano!

I had a difficult time reading the menu at McDonalds. Yes, there is a McDonalds Restaurant in Italy and the food was no better there, than here. The coffee was truly bad.

Glad you enjoyed your trip.

bob_'s avatar

I do love meeting and talking to people when I’m drunk, more so when I’m in another country.

Blackberry's avatar

Yep, the friendliest people I mingled with were in Denmark and Sweden. It also depends on how nice you are and willingness to try to assimilate with their culture. Nothing was more embarrassing and infuriating than Americans who did not care where they were, and expected everyone to cater to them. Why would you be frustrated because someone in Spain doesn’t understand English? And speaking english louder won’t help them understand it any better.

redfeather's avatar

@john65pennington haha, yes. I sat in a McDonalds in Pisa and it was beautifully decorated. I was amazed.

redfeather's avatar

I was lost one morning in Lucca by myself and I asked a woman where a certain square was and she was sooooo sweet and helpful but only spoke Italian. After a while with some sign language I figured it out and she was so happy she hugged me haha

Hawaii_Jake's avatar

I love meeting people from other countries and talking to them and helping them. I’ve lived in 7 different countries on 4 continents, so I’ve had my share of fun adventures.

I once played a type of “Who’s on first?” with the owner of my favorite coffee shop in Japan. I wasn’t hearing the extra syllable she was putting in the word. We both laughed a good long time when it finally played itself out.

tranquilsea's avatar

I love talking to people from other countries. I like getting their perspective on world events and finding out the similarities and differences in our cultures.

redfeather's avatar

One night there, I was a little tipsy and asked the Barista what he thought about Lady Gaga. Oh man, I have never laughed so hard.

Blackberry's avatar

When I was in Sweden, two women were explaining the upcoming election to me. And I just thought it was hilarious how they described the candidates. They said no one really likes the guy currently in power, but he got elected somehow. They said “he’s like Bush in your country…”.

Hibernate's avatar

I met a lot of people. And the most I met here because they came to get married here [dunno why but they loved the place].
The best is when you try and explain something and he doesn’t understand but he is saying the exact thing.

Adirondackwannabe's avatar

Fourth of July parades are great to watch with people from other countries. They sometimes freak out wondering what’s going on when they start, but then they really get into it.

stardust's avatar

Yes, I love meeting people from all corners of the globe. I love learning about the differences between cultures.

TexasDude's avatar

Yeah, it’s part of my adventuring spirit.

The last time I was in Mexico, I hailed a cab and asked him to take me to the straw market.

He took off like a rocket and we wound up weaving in and out between scooters and pedestrians on the streets of Cozumel at around 120 km/h. The icing on the cake was a bumper sticker on his dashboard that said “I go from 0 to horny in 2.5 beers.”

We got to the straw market safely, I told him “thank you very much, friend” in Spanish, and tipped him well.

Seelix's avatar

Heck yes. I love it – it’s one of the most enjoyable aspects of travelling.

I did find that in Italy, the locals really appreciate it when travellers make the effort to speak Italian, even if it’s terrible. I’m literary-fluent, meaning I can speak and read and write with no problems, but I’m not idiomatically fluent, so there are a lot of little nuances that come out of native speakers that leave me going “Huh?”

King_Pariah's avatar

So far anywhere but Paris and Holland, Didn’t believe the snobbish French stereotype until I went, but I love the countryside and it’s people. They’re very friendly and hospitable, well, at least the few villages/towns I visited. And then Holland, my friend needed help (broke his leg) and I was trying to wave down a car/taxi to get us to a hospital, car pulls over, driver asks, “Dutch?” I say, “no,” driver rolls up his window and continues on his merry way. Repeat 4 times before a taxi is kind enough to take our money.

I gotta say, most interactions with foreigners have be very pleasant as long as I don’t act as a stuck up American (which I never do).

zenvelo's avatar

Talking to locals is always fun for me when travelling, even in big cities. And I enjoy meeting people from other countries here visiting San Francisco.

nailpolishfanatic's avatar

Yes. I love talking to strangers. Yesterday I was skateboarding and took a short interview on the street with a guy from Iran. I met him again today and we had a chat.

Schroedes13's avatar

I’ve spent two summers in Asia, one in Hong Kong, SAR and the current one in Nanjing, China. I love just going around and seeing how people react and interact with me. It’s so much fun. As has been said about many other people worldwide, most of the Chinese I’ve met are the nicest people, and while the language barrier is tough, body language is worldwide!

msbcd's avatar

That’s probably one of my favorite things to do! I think it’s important to for us to engage with people from around the globe. You’ll soon realize how similar our differences are :P it’s fantastic!

Schroedes13's avatar

@msbcd I can’t wait to be engaged with a person from around the globe!

Linda_Owl's avatar

You do not have to be drunk in order to enjoy talking to people from other countries. I love to talk to people from other countries, it is a marvelous way to get a glimpse into other cultures & societies. People are usually endlessly fascinating.

msbcd's avatar

@Schroedes13 Yeah, but it all depends on location.

Schroedes13's avatar

That’s the saying: Location, location, location!

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