The thing is... I have to find <i>something</i> interesting about folks and the activities going on to even be motivated to keep up interaction. I need something to be curious about. I can learn a lot about life by reading and random conversations with random folks. This is one of the greatest things about being an immigrant in language courses, and one of the reasons I&#x27;ll do another solo trip to Amsterdam - people open up in coffee shops (though I understand that is partially because I&#x27;m female).<p>That all said, poplular culture often remains strange and unusual to me, along with the things people do with their time and the things people seem to like to talk about. I once googled who the Kardashians were because it came up in small talk and folks wouldn&#x27;t believe that I quit watching television (outside of the random show). I watch conspiracy theories for fun while working on artwork, which is also incredibly boring for a great deal of folks to talk about. I don&#x27;t have the formal education to keep up with some topics - for example, I read HN mostly because I think it is important to know some stuff about these sorts of topics and because I have great hope in technology, but not because I&#x27;m personally involved (and I learn quite a bit, thank you every random one of you).<p>I really wish it were as simple as you say, but forming anything long-lasting with some of this stuff has proven to be a futile thing. I&#x27;ll take the random friends I wind up getting and be happy with that.