Whenever I'm in a public place, on campus or elsewhere, I always wonder about the other people I see. Who are they? Where are they from? Why are they here, what do they want to be? Most of the time we each go around in our own little bubble, ipods and cellphones making the limits of personal space almost tangible, Mr-I-talk-on-my-cellphone-every-waking-second. We don't necessarily want small talk on the bus, we don't want the person in front of us in line to talk to us (how could anyone not like awkward small talk?).



One of my favorite pastimes is looking at other patrons in restaurants and stores and trying to discern their stories, or make up histories for them. (This woman, she has two kids, lives in the suburbs, is an accountant.) (That man has two cats and hasn't been laid in four years.) (This emo kid pretends he likes skating but prefers physics.) That sort of thing. Of course, it's hard to "win" at "Instant History", as we generally don't go ask complete strangers intrusive personal questions to support our hypothesis. The more outrageous, the better. Thus, the woman shopping at the grocery store for cheerios and apples has a secret identity as a pole dancer; the middle-aged guy over there buying a loaf of bread and some coffee is actually a music producer; the two kids furtively stealing candy bars are just two kids who are about to get in trouble, but one of 'em has never met his mother and the other one is a straight-A student.



When I'm abroad I usually waylay any other Americans I see, just for the occasional chance to speak English and because I have nothing else to do. Despite the intense amusement this causes my local companions, seeing me grill strangers in English, in the end it's invariably tourists, and the conversation ends up not being that interesting, just a recitation of their trip so far, and that they absolutely love (insert name of current town or type of local food).



I have another good strategy for meeting interesting people, guaranteed fail-safe: rent out a room. I am not entirely sure where these people come from, but craigslist seems to be the natural habitat of society's strangest, and they all, apparently, want to live with me. I've had some bad experiences with roommates before (one case involved police and replacing the carpet, the other involved eviction of someone who was literally living in my living room for two years). The people looking for housing may be divided into a few categories, easily recognizable:

1. The would-be immigrant (probably related to a Nigerian official looking to store some extra cash for awhile, and would you be willing to help for a mere §500,000?). There is a form letter they send, "I will be moving to Your Town next year and would like to secure a room. Please tell me how much rent is and I will send you a check for six times this number, and you can return the difference in cash" or something similar. I can't quite figure out how the scam works in some cases, but it's pretty obvious they send this letter to everyone and their goldfish.

Hello
Good day to you,I'm XXXXXX,32 from manila,Philippines.I am a pre-school teacher here but I have been chosen among Ten teachers that are going to work as high school teachers in the States.The programme was organized by an Organization to encourage Philippines teachers and it is supported by the United States Government.I will be moving over to the states in January and I want to secure a place to stay while in the States.I will like to know much about the room and I would really want to secure the room before my arrival,I will like to know if it would be possible for me to make the payment for the room before my arrival,I also want to know the total amount of the room per month with the utilities included. All these vital information are very important for me to know before submission of my proposal to the Organization .The Organization will be paying all the fees. The following information will be needed to get the payment to you if you will rent the room to me..
(1) Your full name as it will appear on the payment.
(2) Address.
(3) phone number.
Hope to hear from you asap.
Thanks.

2. Hard-time family: Someone in their forties or fifties who want to move into my basement room with their two kids and half their extended relations, it seems. Nein, danke. I have some sympathy for people making their ends meet, but my house was intended for three or four people, not eight.

3. Slightly creepy guy: He's anywhere from 35 to 50, has no real job and no desire to get one, may or may not own furniture. One guy told me once, and my mother twice, that he wants to settle down and start a family, though he has no girlfriend. There has to be a reason these people want to live with college students, financial or otherwise. Purely objectively and scientifically speaking, a large number of these people could be termed "creepers".

4. "Special cases": this includes people with criminal records, stints in mental institutions, or pet pot-bellied pigs.

HELP! we are in need of a place to move into around the 1st of december. have to be located in boulder county prior to christmas day. middle aged couple, two kids, relocating to the area. both adults have great jobs, here's the problem. my fiance' is currently in a half-way house and therefore has a past criminal record. the past is the past and this new family needs a fresh start. it is
imperative that we find something prior to my fiance's release. thank you.

Even better:

must allow pets. by pets i mean a very well mannered, house bound, litter trained, pot bellied pig. happy to leave extra big deposit because i know he will not leave a mark. if anyone knows anyone that might let a pig live in their home for a few months, please get in touch. i really can't stand the thought of leaving him in connecticut. thanks in advance. rent et al. is negotiable. first floor best.

I envy people with single apartments..