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The thing with British people is, they love to socialise but above everything else they believe there is a time and a place for everything. If stuff happens out of time or place, things get really awkward. If you murder someone during lunch time, they'll be more offended by the indiscretion than the murdering. A good murder should happen during dinner, and the body found just before the cheese is served. Otherwise, it's just not right, know what I'm saying? So if you want to talk to strangers, get yourself in a situation where strangers talk to each other. First stop: your local (pub). Or try gigs, festivals, open-air markets, that soft of thing. Or get a hobby and go to a club for the hobby, that's a great way to make friends (if you're a nerd with a hobby. I'm a nerd with many hobbies and it's worked fine for me). If you just walk up to people on the street, or in the transport, and go "Hi, my name is Joe Schmoe of Peoria, Alabama, I work for Giant Corp Ltd and I have three kids and a wife I love" they'll probably only freak out and clam up. Obviously some won't, but it's a bit of a crap shoot. I bet when you say you 're used to greet people, you also learned there's a time and a place for that too. You won't go and greet a cop making an arrest, or a firefighter putting out a fire, you don't go into insta-greet mode like a mindless automaton every time you see someone. The same goes for talking to people in the UK: you have to be mindful of the social situation. I'm talking like a bloody foreigner here. Brits have a good side and a bad side. The trick is to learn which is the good side, and talk to that side. When they're nice, they're really nice, so it's worth it. Find that good side and say "hi" to it. You won't regret it. |