Greece, the thirty-fourth day. Athens.

[hawkwing_lb]

In which your faithful correspondant is weirded out by a boy in a park.

Seriously, people, I did not realise five pm in the afternoon was pickup time. It is none of your business whether I'm male or female, and you can admire my hair all you like, but no touching the back of my neck and calling me friend.

I go for a walk in the park after lunch/dinner. This perfectly normal looking boy comes up alongside me, skinny little bastard with open and non-threatening body-language, and tells me his name is Raj from Mumbai. I put down my discomfort whole striking-up-a-conversation-with-a-stranger-in-a-park thing to different cultural norms.

And then the little fucker touches the back of my neck and starts asking about my gender.

Now, if his body language had been much different, rather than open and relaxed and the kind of floppy that reminds me of some people back home, I would've felt far more hostile. And, probably, I wouldn't have let him in arm's reach. As it was, I told him not to bother even asking and took off for a jog.

But I didn't feel comfortable again until I got back here.

Skinny little fucker, half the reason I let him close enough to talk to me was he pinged my "I can take him" meter rather than my "creep" one - so where the hell do I get off being nervous/uncomfortable and angry at myself for being nervy all the way home?

I think it's quite possible that I stumbled onto the gay cruising scene by accident. Pedion tou Areos (Ares Park) is apparently a hotspot, and historically I have been mistaken for a boy all over Greece. This doesn't make me any less freaked out, but it does make me freaked out for different reasons. I might be quite a butch girl, and despite my situational celibacy I'm quite happy to find persons of diverse gender presentation sexy... but I'm still female, dammit.

Oh, well. Life is occasionally interesting, yes?

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

Goodness. That kind of approach is always disquieting.

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

That's one word for it.

[clarentine]

Interesting in the Chinese sense. *g* ("May you live in interesting times.")

so where the hell do I get off being nervous/uncomfortable and angry at myself for being nervy all the way home? He got into your space, past your guard. Sounds a normal reaction to me. Your "what if?" brain cells must have been throwing out nasty scenarios one-two-three.

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

Just a few. Mind you, physical danger, I did not feel it. Embarrassing public scene, that I might have been afraid of. (And the awkwardness of attempting to explain to security guards why I was punching someone for merely touching me... that's always something that worries me. I don't have real good de-escalating skills. :P)

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

I don't have real good de-escalating skills.

Well, I find those come with practice. Possibly also with age. Your reaction is quite familiar to me, and is probably the leftover adrenaline coursing through the brain.

Also, go you.

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

Age and practice, that makes sense.

How are you?

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

Well enough, thanks! The weather is suddenly turning cooler, and life is less stressful overall. I hope your trip home was/is smooth and inconsequential!

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

Less stressful is good: I am glad to hear it!

I am home unharmed, and have been fussed over by a cat. Thank you.