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Published On: Oct 30, 2006 02:27 PM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Oct 30, 2006 02:27 PM
Life as a Zoo Exhibit
One thing that I STILL can't get used to
here is being stared at. ALL THE
TIME!
The minute we step outside our apartment building, people turn and have a good stare. People in the neighbourhood are pretty used to us, but at any point in time, there are loads of people passing by or visiting our neighbourhood, for whom the sight of our faces is (apparently) incredibly fascinating!
Driving along, we often almost cause accidents on the road from people straining to have a good look at us. This morning (and most mornings and other times of the day!) I was stopped at traffic lights and a woman council-worker in overalls and cone-hat noticed me and immediately nudged her friend so that they could both spend the whole time at the traffic lights looking at me.
Yesterday we went into a shop to look for sweaters. Whilst I was looking, a girl in the store stood there with her mouth open and her eyes wide, just staring at me as I looked around the shop. Being so closely observed while shopping is one thing, but then she reached out and picked up some of my hair with a look like she'd never seen hair before!
Russell had a similar thing happen with a young girl (probably about 6 years old or so) who was absolutely obsessed with him! She stared and stared and stared, and then came up and poked her finger in his cheek (apparently testing to see what the strange creature feels like!).
I say about these incidents to give an example, but it is literally ALL DAY, EVERY DAY and everywhere you go.
I never know how to feel about all this staring business. In fact, my feelings change on a daily basis. Some days you start to feel like some sort of minor celebrity, from all the attention. Other days, it is really annoying and the feeling of being some sort of monkey in a zoo is very strong. And then other days, I literally don't notice it and then Russell will tell me about someone having been staring like crazy and I just don't care.
The funny thing is that whilst I don't think I could ever get used to it, things were quite different in Thailand, and I kind of missed the staring! Because of the high number of westerners living, working and visiting Thailand, westerners are absolutely nothing special. No one stared. No double-takes or pointing out the "freaks" to friends. Nothing. We felt so... so.... ordinary!
The minute we step outside our apartment building, people turn and have a good stare. People in the neighbourhood are pretty used to us, but at any point in time, there are loads of people passing by or visiting our neighbourhood, for whom the sight of our faces is (apparently) incredibly fascinating!
Driving along, we often almost cause accidents on the road from people straining to have a good look at us. This morning (and most mornings and other times of the day!) I was stopped at traffic lights and a woman council-worker in overalls and cone-hat noticed me and immediately nudged her friend so that they could both spend the whole time at the traffic lights looking at me.
Yesterday we went into a shop to look for sweaters. Whilst I was looking, a girl in the store stood there with her mouth open and her eyes wide, just staring at me as I looked around the shop. Being so closely observed while shopping is one thing, but then she reached out and picked up some of my hair with a look like she'd never seen hair before!
Russell had a similar thing happen with a young girl (probably about 6 years old or so) who was absolutely obsessed with him! She stared and stared and stared, and then came up and poked her finger in his cheek (apparently testing to see what the strange creature feels like!).
I say about these incidents to give an example, but it is literally ALL DAY, EVERY DAY and everywhere you go.
I never know how to feel about all this staring business. In fact, my feelings change on a daily basis. Some days you start to feel like some sort of minor celebrity, from all the attention. Other days, it is really annoying and the feeling of being some sort of monkey in a zoo is very strong. And then other days, I literally don't notice it and then Russell will tell me about someone having been staring like crazy and I just don't care.
The funny thing is that whilst I don't think I could ever get used to it, things were quite different in Thailand, and I kind of missed the staring! Because of the high number of westerners living, working and visiting Thailand, westerners are absolutely nothing special. No one stared. No double-takes or pointing out the "freaks" to friends. Nothing. We felt so... so.... ordinary!
Posted: Mon - February 13, 2006 at 03:15 PM