Magic, Conversation Starters - I am a magician. Performance magic can really enhance your travel experience.  I enjoy doing close-up magic which is the type of magic you do where the magic occurs within interpersonal space if not actually in the spectator’s hands.  Magic opens a lot of doors for social interaction and is great fun to do.  Talk about a conversation starter.  Magic can often be done without knowledge of the spectator's language but is more effective and more can be done if you do know some of the language.  A subspecialty of close-up magic is called impromptu magic wherein magical things happen with everyday objects typically supplied by the spectator.  The magical results are even more puzzling in the spectator’s mind as the spectator knows the item isn’t gimmicked or purchased from a magic shop.  Consequently coins, banknotes, rubber bands, business cards, and such make up the impromptu magician’s bag o’ tricks.  Such items don’t have to be packed in my bag as I can get ‘em over there or, better yet, borrow them from spectators.  I especially like to borrow money from a spectator to do magic with as the spectator is on his best behavior in hopes of getting the money back.  I always take a few special pieces of equipment such as a Hot Rod and a packet card trick called Color Monte (but I can use three borrowed cards from the spectator).  I don't do card tricks (called finger-flicking) as there are folks like me who simply cannot follow a card trick (short-term memory problems?) but I do effects with cards like tear one up and restore it, cause it to rise or float, or some other unexpected unusual thing.  I like to be able to do whatevver card trick that can be done with a playing card to also be done with a business card.  By the way, doing tricks with business cards is a great way to get your business card in the hands of a potential customer/contact and that spectator will always associate your card with something special happening.  I also recommend a device that lots of magic can be done with.  I don't want to make it too easy to know about it so you will have to take the extra step of clicking on the link to learn more about it.  There is so much you can do with it and it is so innocuous that you can do magic with it in the nude (just in case you want to do magic at one of the numerous nudist camps in Europe).  I have used that device since I started doing magic in 1984 and will continue to use it--it's just that versatile.  I will recommend a few books: Now You See It, Now You Don’t and The Second Now You See It, Now You Don't by Bill Tarr, and Self-working Coin Magic by Karl Fulves.  These books will give you a solid foundation in the mechanics of close-up magic.  There are other books on theory that I can recommend if you are a person that really gets bitten by the magic bug, but the above books will get you started.  I have taught magic courses in the past and it’s my observation that folks doing and folks watching magic really enjoy themselves.  It's a chance to let that suppressed entertainer in you and that suppressed little kid in your adult spectators to come out without that person's societal role interfering.  One of the best compliments I ever got doing magic was from my boss in Korea when I did a magic show for the kids of my squadron's co-workers.  His brought his son to the show and, still energized with the glow of fun and wonderment, told me after the show that he had just as much fun as his five-year-old.  One of my goals during a trip is to interact with the locals and any fellow travelers in positive social settings.  Magic will do the trick (pun intended).

A great conversation starter is to ask for recommendations on where to go/what to see.  Ask fellow travelers, lodging staff (bed & breakfast proprietors are really good for this), and folks at the local travel information office.  There are times, especially when traveling solo, that you want to hear your own language for a bit.  Just keep personal safety in mind.

Miscellaneous Tip du Jour:  Sew your state/province flag patch on the back of your pack. I used Velcro instead of sewing so I can change patches.  It’s a definite conversation starter as few folks know another country’s state/province flags and they will be curious.  If a fellow traveler is from your state and craves some speech style and culture from your state, you have an automatic friend.   This is especially true for us hillbillies.