"I don’t know how many people will agree, but striking up a conversation with an American stranger is much easier than it is with an Indian stranger."

LOL, as an Indian, I relate to this so much. In India, if a stranger walks up to you, nearly 8/10 times it's either to ask you for money, directions, or to scam you. So naturally over time, you develop a thick skin to avoid strangers or keep interactions with strangers as "transactional" as possible.

In the US on the other hand, there's a lot more of the "a stranger is a friend you just haven't met yet" attitude in the air, so people are much more open to interacting with people they don't know.

The first month in the US, every time some stranger waved hello or good morning when I was walking from my hotel to the office or back, I clutched my bag a bit tighter ;-)