As shy and
quiet as I am, I love to meet and talk with new people. My openness to talking to strangers is a new
development and I found it very easy to do while studying abroad in Leuven. It was so easy to approach any random
stranger and simply ask “Do you speak English?” to start a conversation. Although I already knew the answer to my
question since most Flemish students don’t just know English but are fluent in
the language, it was the easiest way for someone as quiet as I am to start a
conversation with a complete stranger.
Unlike most Americans, who would probably just give a dirty look to
foreigners who try to start a friendly conversation with them, Flemish students
were curious and interested in talking with me.
I learned so much about Flemish culture through my conversations with
these random strangers and was able to connect their life experiences with my
own. While traveling abroad, I was
always the one to ask strangers for directions or help because I was most
comfortable approaching strangers. While
I was comfortable approaching and talking to strangers, there was a limit. For the second semester, I lived with a
Hungarian girl who was just as quiet as myself and studied English literature
as well. The big difference between the
two of us was that when she travelled, she hitchhiked. It was a funny contradiction that a girl who
was even more painfully quiet than myself was totally comfortable asking for a
ride and getting in a car with a complete stranger. She hitchhiked from Belgium to various parts
of France and around the United Kingdom during her five months in Leuven. While I didn’t hear much about her
experiences since two very quiet people don’t make for much conversation sometimes,
I did learn that she was totally comfortable and a veteran at hitchhiking around
Europe, a skill that I both admire and envy.
My experiences
while studying abroad came to mind while I was reading Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. Sal’s hitchhiking adventures allowed him to
meet and befriend strangers that he would have never met otherwise. While reading, I remember the numerous
strangers I met and befriended while travelling by simply approaching them and
finding a common factor through casual conversation. Every encounter we make shapes our future,
like when Sal accepted a ride from strangers without a specific destination. His easy-going attitude allowed him to trust
the strangers, although he was concerned about expenses from time to time. Every stranger that Sal encountered
influenced his journey and his life in some way or another, no matter how
enriching their stories were or not.
While Sal quickly comes and goes through many different places, every
person that he encounters impacts him in one way or another.
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