Talking to Strangers – Scavenger Hunt

An hour ago, I didn’t know that I would have to talk too so many strangers in one morning. A scavenger hunt forced me to do so in order to complete two objectives: #1 a conversation about the weather and #2 a piece of gum that isn’t pink.

Therefore, I started all my conversations with: “hi, do you happen to have gum on you that isn’t pink?” Yeah, that’s weird. But hey, I couldn’t afford to lose time having conversations with 50 people and later finding out that they don’t have gum on them (because believe me, most people don’t).

The first conversation I had was with Matt. He was sitting behind a desk in the Student Government Office. He didn’t have gum, but he’s been here for a while and could tell me something about the weather here. In general, he likes the weather in Iowa, he said. When I asked him when it would begin to snow he said: “It could start snowing in two to three weeks, it could Strat snowing in two months. But once it starts, it’s not going to stop.”

After that, I still had to get a piece of gum. So, I talked to about ten people before I found my lifesaver, sitting there at a table with two other people and having a virtual meeting – Pastor Andy. Technically, I knew him before. But I haven’t talked to him one on one yet, so he basically is a stranger. I imagined him to be a super nice guy, and I was proven right. When I told him I needed a piece of gum, he simply reached for his backpack and said: “how many pieces do you need?”

This is where my scavenger hunt ended. This class was definitely unusual.

1 thought on “Talking to Strangers – Scavenger Hunt

  1. fuglsang

    Yes, that’s a strange way to begin a conversation. I would have gone with, “Could I ask a favor of you?”

    Matt knows his Iowa weather. He’s a local.

    Nicely done, Jolina.

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