Interviews

There are many reasons why people are not connecting and meeting people. There might be time constraints, some people are very shy and find it hard to meet new people and in a different city or cultural setting one may not know how to meet people and what the proper etiquette is in that particular environment. Many people relocate and find it quite hard to meet people in a new place. 

I have interviewed a few people about their lives and how they are connecting and am telling there story here as I may use them as my characters in my project. 

15/07/09

I met Matt, 26 and a worker at Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics Company. He moved to London from Connecticut, US and said it took him five months before he made a friend here. He said it is very hard to meet people here. 

3/07/09

My name is Mary Anne. I am 35 years old and a student working on my masters degree in design. I am currently living in London. I am from the states, but am here for school. I have been here since last September 2008. It is now July, 2009. I find it hard to meet new people and find myself spending a great deal of time in my room on my computer as means of keeping in touch with friends and family back home. I have met a few people since living here, but I still find myself isolated from others as I find it really tough talking to people here. Most of the gatherings at school are alcohol related and I do not drink. This put a large damper on things as a great deal of the population consumes alcohol in college. People seem reserved and not willing to strike up a conversation unless it is through a friend's introduction or simple questions like directions from one place to another. There are days that i am very sad or am having trouble with research or just need someone to talk to. I have to rely on my mother a great deal and wish I had someone here i could confide in. It is amazing how a simple thing like a hug or pat on the back feels at a time like this. I miss my mom's hugs and reassurance. A warm smile and a nod letting me know things are ok. 

I am not as shy as most and am willing to put a little more effort into talking to people. I have classmates that say they are way too shy to attempt a conversation with someone new. 

3/07/09

Nancy is an illustrator and currently living in London. She moved here about five years ago to take a break after graduating from the university, but ended up staying here and looking for work. She met someone here and fell in love. They had a child together, but a few years later broke apart. She is thirty one years old and a single mother. She started working on her masters degree last year and is looking for freelance work in the design field. 

Other than the few people she met through her past relationship, she knows few people in London and finds that she is quite lonely and disconnected socially. She keeps quite busy with her classwork and looking for jobs, but would really like to connect with others, to have someone to talk to and even have a place she can go when she is feeling very sad and alone. 

My roommate Claire, comes to me often sad and feeling quite alone. She twenty nine and a student at the same university. She is from China and also feels it is very difficult to meet people here. 

She told me it is much easier to call someone at home, even if they are not very close to her, if she is lonely and feeling sad. They will call her right away and set up a time to get together to talk. She told me here she feels she cannot do that as she can't seem to meet anyone. Many days she tells me she is lonely and wished she was back home with her friends. She is single and would like to meet people