Finally, I might be getting to the root of undesired attention while walking to and from the grocery store. I still feel like I am wearing a shirt that has two sides--one side says "fuck me/free sex" and the other side has "$, I want to give to everyone." The funny part is that I am wearing long sleeves, long pants, hiking boots, and a ball cap, so it isn't like I am dressing in some seductive fashion.
I have asked the wealthy, the middle-class, the educated, the uneducated, the not so rich, and more about this response. The most coherent reason was given today: education. The uneducated look at you without manners and the educated either don't look or only hold the thoughts in their minds. We all have minds and I am sure there are times we are all thinking things that are not to be shared. I did find out that there are foreigners who come over and have affairs that give the impression that all white foreigners act in this way.
Interesting to be an adult looking at bullying and discrimination. I have tried a lot of positive and negative techniques for addressing it. Not giving up yet. One of the differences for women is that there is a layer of physical violence that "tips its' hand" when men are acting inappropriate. Do we overlook it or turn on safety/survival mode. Repeatedly, I am told that the men are not to be trusted and to be careful. It does turn out that the native/local women even run into this problem. A suggestion was made to take a bus everywhere, but standing wedged inside of a public bus doesn't feel any better. At least I don't have to touch them while walking. I was also told that the police action against someone who bothers a foreign, woman is very strict. Too bad it isn't for all women! Plus, the idea is not to have something uninvited happen.
On a positive note, I did use the water heater the past two days to take a warm bucket bath. Wow, small pleasures in life!
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