Luca Sartoni

Talking to strangers

Choose a place you don’t fit in, where you are in the minority in some way. If you are someone who spends the majority of your time in the minority, this experience may be as common as rain to you, and you may want to skip it. You should be noticeably out of place — perhaps by race, gender, ethnicity, age, ability, membership, appearance or other categories of difference. The goal here is simply to observe: What are people doing? How are they responding to your presence?

Interesting set fo exercises by Kio Stark. Great read!

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One response to “Talking to strangers”

  1. hmunro Avatar
    hmunro

    This describes my entire childhood as a blonde, blue-eyed girl in Peru! Nevertheless, it’s an exercise I still practice often because it’s good to be reminded of the vulnerability one can feel when being “other.” In fact, the most recent experience came a couple of weeks ago after casting my early ballot. Hungry, I wandered across the street to a Middle Eastern market in search of lunch and was astounded by how out-of-place I felt. The other shoppers were speaking mostly Arabic and Somali, and I couldn’t read the labels on some of the packages. The vibe was welcoming and friendly, though, and I was reminded for the umpteenth time that a smile transcends many barriers. Added bonus: If ever I need halal camel meat, I know exactly where to go!

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