How To Avoid Unwanted Conversations

Funny video, thanks for the post. In South America, I have to spend a lot of time traveling on buses. It is very common for people to get sick on winding South American roads, so whenever I can’t get the person next to me to leave me alone, I act like I’m getting ready to vomit. I ask the driver’s assistant for a little barf bag, put it on my lap (ready to go), and make funny faces like I am constipated. The person next to me usually gets the hint and shuts up…

haha, excellent suggestions all around.

I like the sleeping method, not offensive just naturally Zzzzzz….

I’ve lived and traveled in a lot of places where people have often approached me and tried to strike up conversations (Ghana, Turkey and Egypt were particularly overwhelming in this regard). One trick that I tried once in Istanbul (after 5 years of having men trying to chat me up) was feigning deafness. I was on a ferry crossing the Bosporus and a guy came over, sat next to me and wouldn’t shut up. This wasn’t a cultural-learning-moment- he was just an annoying guy trying to pick me up. So I smiled benignly, indicated incomprehension, and replied in fake sign language. He tried futilely for another minute then went off. He came back with two cups of tea and gave me one and we crossed the Bosporus in wonderful silence.

In Egypt, I pretended to be Turkish every time a tout came up to me and tried to sell me things in English (then french then German then…). So far none has spoken enough Turkish to successfully continue a conversation. If Turkish fails, I haul out my rusty Afrikaans.