> If you’re a foreigner, congratulations – you’re probably the loudest person on their often (voluntarily) silent public transport.
I have this feeling that this is not a Finish thing, but a rest-of-the-world-apart-US, thing. In my ~40 years spent in Romania and now UK, I rarely saw people engaging strangers on public transport, let alone doing it loudly.
I live in London, and you can tell the distance from London by how willing people are to give you eye contact or talk. I remember the sheer shock first time I traveled to Isle of Wight. First people had noticeably more open body language as we got further out, and once we got onto the train after the ferry over a stranger spoke to us.
It felt bizarre.
Now if you're travelling towards another city in the UK chances are you won't get nearly as dramatic an effect.
Dense urban areas tends to have people withdrawing into a cocoon even many places where people are usually friendlier.
Well, if I am going somewhere and this IS the reason you are going to find me in a means of public transport, I really don't feel the need to entertain you. And the tube is mostly loud, so no reasonable way to have a conversation.
If we are in a pub, by all means, let's chat. I might even buy you the drinks for the rest of the night.
There is time for chatting and there is time for minding your <beep> mind. And I think I should get my British passport simply for believing and living by this idea.
An Isle of Wight’er here. We’re a welcoming bunch and when myself and my family travel to the North Island it does take a little adjustment in terms of adjusting to things such as body language and resisting the urge to speak with random people!
The funny thing is it's not just locals. You can feel the energy change on the train towards the coast as people get off and get on. People are more relaxed. Even the Londoners staying on the whole way starts to chill. I think when you're surrounded by a whole mass of people all the time and trying to navigate people who often want stuff from you, it's just natural to decide you need to ignore them or it'll be overwhelming.
Even where I live in South London, random strangers will say hi to you if you go for a walk in the park early enough in the morning, when they've not yet run into too many people. And then the later in the morning you go, the more people raises their shields.
Seems true! The longest amount time I ever engaged with anyone on public transit was when I was sitting near a couple of fellows who had decided that polishing off a full case of long drink on the train ride north was a good idea. Thankfully, both were the I-love-you-man type versus the angry drunk type, especially since they wanted to talk about Trump-era politics once they figured out one of my companions and I were Americans.
My Belgian companion wisely kept his damn mouth shut the whole time.
People travel in groups and talk all the time. But you can hear American tourists or exchange students (mostly Erasmus) clearly across the platform on Stockholms
metro stations.
It's not about likelyhood of talking, but how loud you speak. I feel like my inlaws (from the US) are constantly shouting.
I have this feeling that this is not a Finish thing, but a rest-of-the-world-apart-US, thing. In my ~40 years spent in Romania and now UK, I rarely saw people engaging strangers on public transport, let alone doing it loudly.