Stockholmers, Part II

This is the continuation of the post which starts just below. You may want to read that one first.

And here's the other thing - I've never been in a place that's so friendly.

Everyone - EVERYONE - I've asked for help has helped me accurately, kindly, and in English. Bus drivers, the lady at 7-11, the guy with the machine gun in front of the palace (if anyone should know where a public toilet is, it's a guy with a machine gun, right?), the people at the metro station. I've never seen a city with so many friendly, helpful people.

And when I've spent a lot of time walking around and taking pictures in Geneva. I've had two people ask me to take a picture of them: a 6 year-old boy and a woman who, I have a hunch, was not really that interested in the picture. Most people either ignore me (my preferred reaction, usually, given the alternatives I've seen there), or they get scared/confused/angry. Rarely angry, to be fair, but there are a lot who look suspicious, even when I haven't taken a picture of them.

Today, I had almost a stream of people coming to talk to me. "I like cameras and photography, too. How did you get started? What do you like to shoot? Where can I see your pictures?" Or, "Hey, take a picture of me! Take a picture of my friend! Take a picture of all my friends! Can we take a picture of you with my friends?" Or, "What are you taking all these pictures for? Are they going in the newspaper?" Or, the most interesting one which actually took place in French when the guy and I couldn't find another language that overlapped, "I have pictures of models... where do I send them?". Sorry, I don't think I can really help you there. And no, I'm not making any of these up - they are the conversations I had today.

I don't think I usually give off a huge "hey, I'm taking pictures because I want you to come and talk to me" kind of vibe. In fact, I've had friends not stop to say hi to me (they told me later) because I looked so intensely absorbed in what I was doing that they just weren't sure it would be a good idea to disturb me. But somehow, in Stockholm, that translates to meeting a whole ton of new people. Of course, I forgot my model release forms back at Richard and Dorothy's, and I don't have any cards printed with my website address on ("here, just let me see if I can find a piece of garbage on the ground to write it on for you..."), but it was still a fantastic day.

Oh, and they hug when they meet each other, which I just adore. The girls seem to squeal a lot, too. Not so crazy about that. Maybe it's a special part of the cultural festival. *shrugs*

And to finish it off, I saw a Corvette and an Audi RS4 go at it off a light today. The Audi just wiped the road with the 'Vette. Nice.

I really do love this city.