Most hardly know geography, politics, or genuine culture within their own country! I had a similar experience, in college the walk-ons were all local yokels who were into teevee shows and their established high school friend set. So I ran often with the foreign scholarship athletes and had far more stimulating, high minded conversation. At the very least, they had a more experienced, sophisticated perspective into training and racing.
Blowing Rock Master wrote:
I spent 10 days at Lornah Kiplagat's camp in Iten in 2006. At the camp with me were 2 Americans, an Englishman, a Scot, 2 Dutchmen, a South African, 2 Austrians, an Australian, and of course a bunch of Kenyans. Conversation during meals, runs, and hanging out in town or the Keirio View was usually lively.
Here is the list of topics I never heard anybody discuss - history, philosophy, or art. Music and movies got briefly mentioned in passing. Only 2 conversations were about politics - one with a Kenyan taxi driver when I corrected his delusion that the US government isn't corrupt, and the other with the Scottish Catholic who enlightened me about the religious prejudice that still exists in Scotland. 90% of all the conversations were about running and people's lives.
The premise of this thread isn't true. Americans aren't uniquely boring. People are the same all over the world. They are wrapped up in their own lives so that is what they are most likely to talk about.
This might be because those foreigners who elect to go very far away to train in Kenya are very focused on running and so that may be their main interest in life even though they do things on the side.
I went to the same camp, Lornah K. , in 2009 and had a good fortune to meet the star Israeli husband of Salpeter. This Israeli guy could talk about everything and anything - he had a vast cultural awareness.
Most of the other campers were focused on running and so we talked about running that was why we were there. we also talked about diet and cultural mores and the Dutch people talked about things like missing cheese even though they serve cheese at the camp.
Gentleman Savage wrote:
Most hardly know geography, politics, or genuine culture within their own country! I had a similar experience, in college the walk-ons were all local yokels who were into teevee shows and their established high school friend set. So I ran often with the foreign scholarship athletes and had far more stimulating, high minded conversation. At the very least, they had a more experienced, sophisticated perspective into training and racing.
PMSL that sounds like fun.
This is why one of my best running friends is from Italy. I only wish we lived closer to each other but we get together a few times a year for long trail runs or run a few ultras together. Great conversations about all kinds of topics.
Not to get too existential on you, but, stop worrying about so much irrelevant hot air and pick up the pace...you never really *know* anybody.
Ghost1 wrote:
and the Dutch people talked about things like missing cheese even though they serve cheese at the camp.
OMG that's funny (because it's not surprising)
O2jdjdjsoajazn wrote:
Fi wrote:
I have been training with Americans at training camps, but the conversations stagnate at some point, so it is hard to get to know them. They don’t know much about geography or political institutions outside their own country. Is there any topics that I should bring up?
Maybe they just don't like talking to you?
By the way OP is coming off as a complete pretentious, d0uchebag I can see why.
just to clarify wrote:
You are trying to discuss geography with people during a run, and then blaming other people for the conversation being boring?
EXACTLY! Hey Euro - STFU and run. That's what you're running buddies are thinking.
'your'
Fi wrote:I have been training with Americans at training camps, but the conversations stagnate at some point, so it is hard to get to know them. They don’t know much about geography or political institutions outside their own country. Is there any topics that I should bring up?
Yes, so true! How many Americans are aware that there was a political coup a couple of days ago in Myanmar? A lot of similarities between the successful coup in Myanmar and the failed coup in the US.