Well, conversation 101 always starts with weather and food. What was the nicest and worst weather you ever had? What was your favorite food? What were some of their favorite things to do for fun? What were some of their favorite songs? What was the largest gatherings they attended? Who were the nicest people they knew? Who were the scariest people they knew? What were the best and worst things about their school/education? What types of vices did people have? What kind of taboo behaviors were people into? Did they buy black market goods and how did that work? What types of items did they acquire on the black market? How paranoid were they around family, friends, police, etc? Was there anything they were afraid to say but wanted to? Was there anything they wanted to do but were afraid? How and where did they get their news? How believable or unbelievable was their news? It is always good to ask people about local sayings and expressions, as well as curse words.