Im traveling and getting very sick of opening people with "where you from?" just wondering if anyone can think of any other natuall friend but intersting openers for hostels? [/quote][/code]

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"Make todays dreams tomorrows reality"

Guys Im having a blast around cowgate in edinburgh...if you wanna join me, give me a shout!

hotels?

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"The bird sets itself on fire… and in the embers is an egg. In order to do great things, you've got to recreate yourself again ,and you can’t do that holding to a glory or a failure from yesterday. "

Hostel = cheaper hotel

For the openers, I don't think they really matter that much. I often can't think of anything good, then I remember it doesn't matter, I go to her, say "Hi", or I point out something obvious, make a statement, anything. My best openers are when I see she's staring at something, or thinking about something. Then I start with a question "That xxx you're looking at is xxx" or "What're you're thinking about?" Or I do some crazy stuff like "Hi Tina!" or "Got any drugs for sale?" to a girl I never met.

The point is, my openers are lame. And it doesn't matter. What matters is how you open, not what you open with. At the end of the day, you're just having fun.

thanks mate thats a really good insight. its changed the way i view stricking up a simple convo with nothing but friendship in mind. really helpful

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"Make todays dreams tomorrows reality"

Guys Im having a blast around cowgate in edinburgh...if you wanna join me, give me a shout!

Hey buddy,

Yeah I agree, it really is all in how you say it. You can very quickly gain rapport by talking in a way that shows comfort. Its kinda hard to describe the tone of voice through text, but im sure you get what i mean.

If it were me, I'd spend some time practicing quickly building rapport by:

- only talking in statements, it shows comfort
- making wild, outrageous assumptions about her 'It must be tough for you having to hide from the law in this hostel.'
- upping the physical contact

Ohheisacharmer

A hostel is like a hotel, in the same way McDonalds is like a restaurant. :p

As far as opening goes, if you're all in a hostel then you all have something in common. Ask what she thinks of the place.

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Float like a butterfly, sting like when I pee.

Always ask if they know about the local karaoke scene. You can, from there, go in any number of directions. If she does, you can insist that she hit the road with you to the karaoke bar where you'll do duets and belt out tunes (even if you don't actually end up doing that).

Or you can tell her how the neighborhood with the most happening karaoke scene is usually the place with the best parties/after hours greasy spoons/mix of cultures, etc!

Or you can start signing to her accapella, right there in the hostel lobby! Serenade her with your best rendition of Roxanne, by Sting and the Police. Then, you can keep the camaraderie going all night by calling her Roxanne, regardless of what her name is.

Or you can set out on a quest to convince her that she actually LOVES karaoke (if she says she hates it--which means that she's shy and needs YOU to break her out of her shell... and not necessarily by getting her on stage, if you know what I mean).

You can talk about what her karaoke go-to is. You can talk about what song is terrible karaoke.

You just grab her by the arm, after being all excited about it, and say, "okay, we're off, first round is on you!"

Anyway, there's a world of flexibility with that one and most hostellers love crazy karaoke nights (because they usually involve alcohol and other crazy misgivings).

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Where there are bees, there is honey

Hostel is a hotel where you sleep in the same room with strangers. 4-18 or even more strangers are sleeping in the same room.

Just to clear some light.