I often forget I am a woman travelling alone in a foreign country. That is, until some random guy on the street reminds me of it. “You’re by yourself?” (Excuse me?) This time his name was Ricardo: “REE-chard in English.” He was a well-dressed businessman, as is common in the financial capital of Brazil. He did not impress me.
I had been walking down the Avenida Paulista and we both stopped at a traffic light. I think he was surprised to find a woman walking as quickly as he was. Everyone around us was walking exceedingly slowly.
He asked me if I knew the city well and if I was a brasileira, the latter obviously just to be kind and/or to start a conversation. I told him I had a map of the city, and no, I was not a brasileira – I was an americana.
“Oh, California!” he exclaimed. “I took an English course in California once. There are no good English classes in São Paulo. Do you give English classes?”
Now São Paulo is a metropolitan city—comparable to a Brazilian New York—so I find it difficult to believe it would offer no good English classes. But I continued. “No, I don’t give English classes. I study environmental engineering in Rio.”
“Oh really?” he asks, surprised.
It turns out that he is a naval engineer and lived in Rio for four years. I have no idea whether this is true or not, but I give him the benefit of the doubt.
We pause at another light. We’ve walked two blocks (with a lot of chit-chat in between) and are now standing in front of a subway station. “Do you have a phone number?” he asks. “You know – just to talk or if I am ever in Rio …”
“Oh, I’m going to be travelling soon,” (which was true).
He looked at his watch and at the station stairs. “Okay, this is where I have to go. It was nice meeting you. Good luck in Rio.”
“It was nice meeting you, too,” I replied. “Good luck with your work.”
We shook hands and thus ended the conversation with Creepy Man # too-many-to-count.
Don't misunderstand -- I love meeting people while travelling. However, I really wish the middle-aged men who can’t imagine a woman ever travelling alone would stop reminding me of the fact that I’m a woman in a foreign country, travelling alone. Luckily for both of us, I’m street smart, too.
2 comments:
"Creepy man # too many to count" lol. yes...i think dudes in general are creepers. Actually, most of the time i think they genuinely forget how old they are and what they look like whenever they see a pretty young female walking "alone". Just like i forget how old i truly am at times when talking to others. (No matter how sloppy i think i look while walking to and from work some one always honks or whistles...it's so embarrassing...) I'm glad you're street smart too!:)
Oh Brie...I'm so sorry. I know I've b*tched countless times about street harassment in Dayton...but I'm well aware of the fact that it isn't just a local epidemic. Why the hell is it so hard for men to check their privilege, and just leave women who are alone...alone?!
Rargh...and *hugs*
Post a Comment