How about the People we meet on the dive boats?

[divezonescuba]

My exwife always said my profession was a conversation killer. Personally I don't know why.

People would ask her what I did for a living. She would reply he's a university professor. The next question was always what does he teach. The response was engineering. End of conversation.

 

[sefuchs]

I really hate when folks go on-and-on about there jobs back home. Have no problem touching on it but seems like a blah, blah, blah subject while on vacation.

We where in Coz during the last election, there were 2 twenty something girls from New Zealand on a around-the-world trip (needless to say how jealous I was). They were well educated but planned on a 2 year trek before committing to their careers. They would pickup any kind of work possible to support their travels. I wanted to hear about their travels but they initiated a political discussion. I was amazed at their knowledge of USA politics and not just the highlights. I am somewhat of a political junkie and was shocked at the breath of knowledge these "kids" had. They said that most all New Zealander students study USA politics on a daily basis. They had strong political opinions but loved their logical, non-emotional viewpoints. So this old geezer got an education from these "kids". I agree political conversation on vacation generally should be avoided this political conversation was very uplifting and educational.

 

[flyboy08]

Most Europeans have a better grasp of US politics than any US citizen....to add, when one asks your vocation, it's just another means to possibly bond with another imho.

 

[scubadada]

This is an interesting thread

I spent my entire professional life interacting with many people each day, often under emotional circumstances. Scuba diving has always been an escape for me, a place for peace and quiet. These days, much of my dive travel is alone and I dive solo whenever possible. I'm never the talkative one on the boat though am glad to converse on a wide variety of topics. Sometimes I think divers approach me for conversation because they think I am alone and lonely, they are mistaken.

On the other hand, I have done a lot of diving in SE Florida over the last 8 years. I only use 5 operators, the majority of dives with just 2. I see some people over and over and some have become friends. I really enjoy having a relationship with the boat captains and crew and seeing the same people, periodically, over time. Knowing these dives very well, I'm also happy to take new divers to help them become oriented to the sites and to drift diving. The results of these dives is often very gratifying

 

[jfcl01]

@flyboy08 , if we were all New Yorkers, I suppose it could be a different ballgame.

I'm all-American myself, and I understand most of us are forward in conversation, but I try to keep in mind that not everyone I might meet on a dive boat is American, and more generally, not everyone is as forward as others.

I recall the first time my family met my fiancee's family from Europe. One of the first things my dad asked her dad--after giving him a Trumpian handshake--was what he did for a living. Her dad took it in stride because he knew how American conversation typically flowed. He had worked all over the world and was able to talk comfortably to just about anyone. Still, as my wife later mentioned, it's unusual in some parts of the world to bring up that topic with someone you just met. In some cultural circles, by the time someone reveals what he does for a living, the conversation has probably gone from initial pleasantries to topics of the day, to hobbies, books, music, movies, etc. Not to get too philosophical, but I think for some of us, perhaps Americans more than others, we let how we earn money define who we are. What I'm not comfortable with is the notion that I am defined by how I support myself financially. There are so many aspects to who I am as a person that have nothing to do with how I support myself. My career is only a small piece of who I am.

This.

 

[ggunn]

I don't like to discuss what I do. I usually give a vague answer or make something up. It is a common question and it doesn't bother me, but I don't feel a need to go into detail or answer accurately.

I find favorite hobbies, TV shows, dive related topics to be much more interesting.

Just to be clear, I don't open with, "Hi, I'm Gordon; what do you do to earn money?" I find that most people in the course of "small talk" get around to discussing their life's work fairly readily. If they don't, I don't pry.

I do NOT discuss politics unless and until I can tell that we are all pretty much in the same boat, so to speak.

 

[ronscuba]

What you do for a living is a standard question and topic of conversation most of us are used to.

However, there are all kinds of reasons one might not want to discuss:

- low regarded occupation
- high regarded occupation but want to avoid being asked for advice
- politician
- controversial company
- controversial occupation

It is easy enough to lie or speak vaguely.

 

[scubadada]

What you do for a living is a standard question and topic of conversation most of us are used to.

However, there are all kinds of reasons one might not want to discuss:

- low regarded occupation
- high regarded occupation but want to avoid being asked for advice
- politician
- controversial company
- controversial occupation

It is easy enough to lie or speak vaguely.

why would you not be honest in your conversations with a stanger?

 

[jbjclj]

Though I no longer participate in shark feeding dives (& do not touch marine life now or kneel on the sand either), I was in the Bahamas & paired up with an instabuddy named Martina for a shark dive when I was still fairly new to diving. My instabuddy seemed nice & was a good buddy. She also seemed familiar, but I just figured I'd seen her on one of my previous dives. Once the dive was over & she got off the boat, everyone flipped out asking me how I kept my cool diving with her. I was very confused till they told me it was Martina Navratilova, the tennis star! She too seemed to think it was all about diving.

That's me touching the shark while kneeling on the sand. (Bad newbie diver moves on my part.) Martina's on the right.
View attachment 426236

We were diving at Taveuni in Fiji and doing our surface interval on a small beach and a small boat came up with 6 people. Martina and her girlfriend and 2 other divers. She was very nice and actually looked much smaller than on tv.

 

[deepsea21]

I personally couldn't give a crap what anyone does for a living on the boat nor do I ask. If it comes up in conversation (as it usually does as most are curious about where we're all from and that leads to the what we do with the rest of our time when not diving) that's cool. Some of the more interesting I've met... An offshore oil rig driller with more off-time to burn than anyone can imagine, an air force pilot/instructor who served in Iraq and blew the enemy to bits from C130 gun ships, a Nat Geo photographer on assignment, a Pilot and flight attendant who would prefer their other halves not ever know about their travels together, along with retirees who could care less about discussing the way they spent their last 40 years and everyone who does whatever... Even the unemployed (as I just happened to be last year). The one commonality all seem to have is diving is the ultimate escape and that time under water is the one place all can say absolutely everything topside is forgotten for those 45-90 minutes as we experience a place we weren't meant to visit for that short period of time. I say diving is one of those ultimate escapes that brings everyone together and puts all on common ground (or water). I assume skydivers, rock climbers and skiers pursuing their hobbies experience the same but I'm not about to jump out of a perfectly functional airplane, climb some rock for the sake of seeing more rock higher up, or spend my day in 2' of fresh powder snow in the freezing cold.