axolotl

Thanks, juggleaddict. I appreciate that.

Re: your reply to huie:
It's not that specifically sexuality comes up that often with strangers (but heterosexual men do sometimes bring it up, such as when making lewd comments about an attractive woman). Most straight people don't realize how frequently entirely innocent questions are raised when talking to strangers while traveling. (Yeah, I like to talk to folks when I travel. I also like practicing foreign languages.) I have often been asked if I'm married or if I have a girlfriend. If I simply answer "no", you'd be surprised how often I'm then asked "why not?". Or sometimes be told, "you should meet my sister" or something similar to that. Sometimes it's said as a joke, but not always.

Think about how often people have banter in the workplace about what they did over the weekend, with casual mentions of spouses or girlfriends/boyfriends. Think about the simple action of putting up a photo of your significant other. (I have been out at all of my recent jobs)

Religion can occasionally be as problematic as sexual orientation, but I've found it doesn't come up with the same frequency, either overtly or inadvertently. Also, in most places, it's not as risky to be honest about religion.

I've had many political discussions when touring, but I never bring it up first. I had a memorable discussion about American politics with a man in Thailand. It was rather extraordinary for a Thai person to bring up something like that in a somewhat confrontational manner. His daughter was translating for us. But when I told him my honest opinion, which was in complete agreement with him, it was wonderful to watch his facial expression change to a big smile as his daughter was telling him what I had just said.