Each of those thousands of people you see around town requires a quick evaluation: should I be scared?
Is it someone I know?
Should I nod or smile?
Are her boots more expensive than mine?
This endless process leads to mental exhaustion.
Here's my take on it.
Talking to or confronting strangers is more problematic in a city where you won't know whether you should speak to them first in English or French, therefore you may even hesitate to communicate at all. I do find, however, that as I get older, I tend to speak up more in pubic in either language as the need arises.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't let any of those ubiquitous, irritating people you mention annoy me, simply because there is no escape from them. Even noisy neighbours must be tolerated as best as possible before considering an angry confrontation. The only option would be to move to a remote area, become a recluse, and end up ranting on "social media" at everything you don't like about the world without ever facing anyone in person. Nice way to lose your marbles, in my opinion, and this "way out" is sadly becoming more common as people become more enslaved to their "smartphones", unable to switch off.
Ever notice that whenever you visit other provinces, the language barrier disappears and you find yourself more chatty than usual? Nevertheless, when in Toronto or Vancouver, for example, you may become self-conscious that your accent may give your place-of-origin away.
Getting on the bus or Metro, I generally tend to automatically shut out the voices of other people who may be chattering away, particularly if I don't understand the language at all or if their French is too fast or full of indecipherable slang words where there is no point in attempting to determine what they are discussing. On the other hand, if I am on a bus or other public transit in English-speaking cities, it is more difficult to filter out strangers' voice since I can generally understand every word.
In many parts of the U.S., when on vacation, strangers are often more open to speaking to you. Years ago in Key West, a couple of pretty girls I was talking to at a food truck actually invited me to join them on the beach nearby! Can you imagine that ever happening here?!
Obviously, if you are renting a car or hiring a boat while on holiday, the locals will usually be friendly. It's their job to be. On the other hand, airport taxi drivers seem under pressure to get you out of there (even often trying to overcharge you, as well!) before you change your mind and threaten to take an airport bus--where such busses exist.
Sometimes an odd sixth sense will mysteriously direct you a stranger who somehow you feel you can approach safely. One time I sat down on a bench in the usually crowded harbour of Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia and began talking to the guy next to me who happened to be from Montreal as well! Exactly how I seemed to "know" this beforehand is inexplicable, and he was just as surprised as I was.
Certainly, whenever you are on vacation somewhere at the local tourist attractions, stations, expositions, museums, etc., there is a good chance that you will run into people from your home town or country with whom you can compare notes and suggest other places to visit, and so forth.
It seems you have adopted video to express yourself lately. I was frozen along with you on your walk along Dorchester in the dark of night. I was glad not to be one of the bus riders that passed you by at that time of day. Your whole effort reflected a certain kind of bleakness about Montreal's past.
ReplyDeleteYour 2nd video effort about observing strangers you don't know, both first and 2nd hand, was a bit disturbing. The minutiae. These are thoughts that sometimes come from people who live alone with a minimum of interaction with other people. People who often have too much time on their hands. They can develop their own tiny worlds and make passing observations more important than they are. ( I had to look up "leitmotif" and now I have the Harry Lime Theme stuck in my head. Thanks!) Shakespeare said that all the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. Does anyone, including hipsters, refer to women as "chicks" any more? No matter where one lives they are going to see familiar faces that they don't know personally. Some guy sees some gal in a laundromat and thinks he has her figured out. He tells you and you tell us. One of those move along folks stories, there is nothing to see here. No sense in going down the paranoid road. There is nothing to be paranoid about. There are real things in life to be afraid of or uncomfortable about. Personally I like it that we aren't all the same and fit molds or others expectations. Viva la difference! Someone being a bit quirky shouldn't upset your day. But then again, like most of your readers I don't sit in laundromats killing time while the dryer does it's job. We all can play games from time to time imaging who a stranger really is but we should also know when to change the station.