Essay

Talking to strangers

By Samantha Loong

It was the early '90s, and my brother and I had successfully connected to our first electronic bulletin board service. We were chatting to the host of this BBS and asked him what he had just typed. "Ah, newbies," he said, and typed :) again.

Parents and teachers have always advised children never to talk to strangers, which is all very good, but with the advent of the Internet, it's difficult not to. In its infancy, it was much easier to come across strange and occasionally creepy people. And in my later years, I've encountered the odd disturbed individual. Thankfully, in all cases I've come away unscathed. But I've also met some cool people and formed some lasting friendships.

My first Internet Relay Chat (IRC) was with a Finn. When I found out where Finland was, I couldn't believe that I was chatting to someone so far away. Even more amazing was the very next day, when a new girl was introduced to us at school. "She's on an exchange," our teacher began, "from Finland." I thought the timing was uncanny and at the first chance cornered her, explaining how the night before I had been "Talking on the computer to a guy from Finland." In hindsight, I'm surprised she didn't think I was a complete weirdo. But we had the best time while she was in New Zealand, and she is now one of my oldest and closest friends.

Many years later, after the Internet had blossomed from being a black screen with yellow text and a blinking cursor to something with multiple colors, images and a mouse cursor, I signed up to an Internet community. I was in Japan at the time, and put on my profile that I had studied New Zealand sign language. A while later, a deaf girl contacted me saying that she would be visiting Kansai from the U.S. and was hoping someone could show her and her partner around.

I'm always cautious about meeting online people in the flesh, but I decided to give it a go. I'm so glad I did. Despite a slight language barrier, we had a great time wandering around Kansai, and she inspired me to learn more sign language. We kept in touch sporadically once she went home, but on my most recent New York trip, we met up again. And now, we're hoping to next meet in Seoul.

The Internet gets a lot of bad press, with cyberbullying and blackmail making headlines. I can be a bit cynical about technology -- nothing beats getting to know someone in person -- but the Internet does break down the barriers to finding people who share your interests. And it's also great for language learning. There are plenty of places online where you can find study buddies or practice speaking with native speakers. If you keep your wits about you, you'll realize that it doesn't always have to be a danger to talk to a stranger.

Shukan ST: NOVEMBER 18, 2011

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