When i am at work I don't have much time for small talk. The how was your weekend questions would only annoy me and anything along that line as people ask them out of requirement rather than any genuine interest in your life. It's what they are expected to do by society so that is what they do.
The people whom i enjoy talking with are the ones who have a genuine passion for the subject. Whether it is an elderly person with a unique story and history, thats great. A debate over politics, sport, movies..... I don't mind as it's genuine.
The idea that someone would hold a casual conversation just because they enjoy my company seems more far-fetched than the wildest science fiction.
When you say something like this it would be the exact opposite of where i am from. Over here you can sit beside strangers at the bar and ten minutes later get involved in a huge conversation about almost anything.
It can be a friend or a stranger, but anybody who approaches people with the right attitude will be welcomed in. The amount of nights we have gone out with one or two people and finished with ten is common place. Just meeting genuine people who's company you enjoy and all get on together. Those were some of the best nights.
It must be rewarding to have those sorts of conversations. I see you're from Ireland. I think it's part of your culture to be able to speak like that, casually and genuinely at the same time. Some of my favorite customers are Irish and I really admire their connection to friends and family. (To be honest I'm a little jealous of it.)
It's much like what we encounter here in the states, down south. Someone will strike up a conversation at the gas station or the grocery store, and it's hard as a New Englander to accept that they just want to talk.
True. I am from Ireland and it's part of the culture to talk and welcome. It's what we know, what we were raised as.
I know from experience that some people find it very strange and unusual. I was in america last summer touring the west coast and we would talk to anybody or go anywhere but sometimes when we were out with Americans they would be telling me not to talk to strangers and it could be dangerous. I obviously ignored that and had no problem asking people questions or chatting to them on a night out but some of the people with us just couldn't get over it. I found it very funny how closed off the were really but it's how they were raised and the culture that they have.