Conversations About God: Day 2

I was apprehensive about today.


When I walked out for dinner, I didn't know who I was going to run into or which new person I was going to be sharing with dinner with. How exactly would I start the conversation?


The Friends
Once I walked into the University restaurant at LG1, I ran into several friends: Aaditya (who I met during my first few days at HKUST), Sarthak (a friend from Toastmasters) and Apple (a friend I met through another friend).


Upon seeing me, Apple welcomed me to join them and introduced me to other person sitting at the table - a Japanese student by the name of Atsushi who is studying Physics at UST.


We ordered food and I explained how I'd recently turned vegeterian. The conversation from there proceeded to the existence of God - and we had a fun, but intense, conversation about God.

Insights from Today

• The more friends you have, the more friends you'll have. I ran into Apple through a mutual friend called Michael. And I ran into Atsushi because I knew Apple. So make an effort to expand your social network
• Group settings where you know at least a few of the people in the group are easier than one on one situations because someone will always have something to say - and you won't run out of things to talk about.

Making New Friends at the WWF: Day 1

Making New Friends at WWF: http://www.365-friends.blogspot.com/

I was sitting at Starbucks today, reading a book about interpersonal skills and sipping my hot Mint Mocha when I came up with the idea for the 365 Friends project. Feeling very excited, I looked around to see who I could start a conversation with. Everyone seemed busy.


So I decided to take a walk along Victoria Harbour. Perhaps I'd run into some tourists?


30 minutes later, and no new friends.


This was turning out to be harder than I thought.


However, as I was walking along, I came across a WWF event for Earth Hour. There was a group of people who were drumming out some of the best beats I've heard. I was mesmerized. I stayed and watched for about an hour. 


When the band had finished playing, the crowd began to disperse. One of the band-members - a woman probably in her thirties or early fourties - was sitting at the side by herself, taking a break from what must have been an exciting but exhausting drumming session.


I decided to grab my chance and approached her.


"Hey! That's some great music!! I complimented her. "Just out of curiosity, is this what you do for a living?" 


She smiled and I introduced myself. She introduced herself as Linda, and once we got talking,  she let me know that she was the Founder of a Mind-Set company in Hong Kong called MeManagement. Wow, what a great contact to run into!


Once she realized I was from Tanzania, she introduced me to another friend of hers - an Indian lady called Seema who had been born in Nigeria. We immediately had something to talk about because of our shared similarity - being two Indians who were raised in Africa. 


When Seema found out that I was a student at HKUST, she said, "Hang on! One of your Professors is here playing with us!"


She introduced me to a man who did not fit your typical image of a Professor. He seemed more like a rock-star as opposed to a Professor. Again, our shared similarity [both living at the same University] became a topic of conversation. After that short conversation, I honestly believe that he's the coolest Professor at HKUST. If you're a UST student who's interested in playing drums, contact me and I'll put you in touch with him - he has a drum-jamming session every Tuesday.


And just like that, I'd been welcomed into a circle of friends. I was introduced to two more members of the group - Shirley and Rob - after which I happily walked away with everyone's contact details...plus an invitation to their drum-jamming session if I was interested in trying it out.




Insights from Day 1: How to Turn Strangers into Friends

• Be brave and just go for it. If I hadn't introduced myself to Linda, I certainly wouldn't have had the pleasure of meeting the team.
• Find a Common Interest to Talk About - With Linda, our common interest was 'drumming'. I was interested in the music she was playing, and she was willing to tell me. With Seema, we found a shared similarity: both being Indians who'd grown up in Tanzania. And for the Professor, we both had a shared similarity to talk about: living at HKUST. 

Conversation Tip

• Search for similar interests/similarities and you'll have something to break the ice and start becoming friends.