I have a difficult time making small talk with Canadians. For one thing, they're less prone to public, meaningless bonding. Americans are likely to chat up strangers in the grocery line. Canadians aren't.
I know; those statements are gross generalizations. In fact, I'm the living exception--when I lived in the U.S., I rarely felt the need for social bonding. Still, it was nice to know that I could initiate a bit if chitchat, or participate in someone else's, if I felt like it.
When we were in Grand Marais awhile back, I had a great little conversation with the woman working in the bookstore, another with the woman at the bank, and another with a woman working at the national monument at Grand Portage. Gotta love the Minnesotans.
This week, I thought my dry spell north of the 49th parallel had come to an end. I was doing my usual circuit in the gym, where I rarely chitchat with others even though it's a big selling point for this company. I find it difficult to keep the chat going. Also, those who talk a lot usually come with people who are already their friends (and, by the way, rarely get a good workout, so why not just save the gym fees and go for coffee, but that's another matter).
So yesterday while I was chugging away, another woman came in--she was slightly familiar but we hadn't even said "hello" before. Pretty soon, we were chatting away. OK, it was about the weather, but still. I thought I was learning something about passing the time with Canadians without feeling like the Ugly American.
Well, the conversation turned, and guess what--she was born in North Dakota. She grew up in the U.S. and has family in Arizona. She's lived here for many years, but her origins are American.
Sigh. I guess random social connections with Americans living in Canada is a step toward random social connections with Canadians. Not that that's a particular goal, but it would be nice to know it's possible to do.
