Conversations

It's becoming more and more apparent to me that one of the spicess of life comes from our interactions with other people. So often I miss opportunities because of fear or my grumpy disposition and lack of desire to talk with those around me. Last week I had some experiences that although they took me out of my comfort zone, helped me to see the value in that.

Conversation #1: We got onto a bus in Rome and there were some little Italian boys probably about 10-13 years old. I heard them say a couple of English words that didn't really have any context and sounded like they were just reciting a few phrases they had learned. I don't know what possessed me to do this but I asked them in Italian if they spoke English and they said not much so I began to talk to them in Italian. I was terrible. But they were really nice and we could still find a way to interact. Although it was slightly painful to be shown up by youngsters it was humbling and fueled my desire to keep practicing.

Conversation #2: We met some Italian boys around our age at a YSA dance in a Roman ward. One of my friends and I worked up the courage to start a conversation in Italian and although I again was really terrible at it, it was fun to find a way to interact with them. It elated us for some reason, just being able to prove to ourselves that we could do it. The dance became a lot more fun because of our interactions with those around us.

Conversation #3: We were sitting in a park one day at the Villa Borghese, relaxing while some people in our group sang and played the ukulele. They have got some serious talent which is also humbling because I've got none of that. Nada. Anyway, we started a conversation with some American girls who were sitting nearby us and learned that they were backpacking around Europe and were staying in a hostel nearby. They had all done a lot of travelling in their lives and experienced a lot of different cultures. One of the girls is in marketing and talked about how she works for the music industry. She even got to drive home the band O.A.R. from one of their shows and they invited her to a party later that night. Unreal. It was interesting to hear about the lives of those that are so different from my own, especially because they are not part of the same religion that I am. It made the interaction all the more better because I got to learn and connect with diverse people. And hopefully I made a contact that could give me some tips on working in the music industry for PR.

So many people got in my head before I left for Europe, saying I would get taken and needed to watch my every move and hide my money. I scared myself into a paralyzed silence. But silence really doesn't get you anywhere in life. And yes I still believe in being careful, but interactions with others are too valuable to be passed up for fear of harming oneself.