Staring at strangers

elenetxu · October 2011

Mom and Dad got in last night! It's great to have them here. The funny thing is that people here are shocked when they hear us speaking English and stare. Oh gosh do they ever stare. We were cracking up last night because the table behind us at the bar was full of teenagers talking about us. Poor DH was doing his best in broken English to chat with Mom and Dad and the little brats were gossiping about us. I darn near turned around and scolded them - I need to learn to turn off teacher mode.

Is this just a Spanish thing, or do the locals in your respective countries find it totally socially acceptable to stare? If so, are you like me and have you adopted the staring?

FayeD · October 2011

Staring was extrememly normal in Italy. Crazy amounts of staring. I could ignore most of it but the "lets undress her" stares from the men got some pointedly dirty looks from me. Staring is kind of normal here. The local Arabs don't seem to care too much because there are so many expats already, but many of the third country nationals will stare. Indians who act like they have never seen a blonde before (quite possible) to Filipinos who are dumbfounded that it's a Filipino man with a white woman vs the "usual" here of a white or Arab man with a Filipino girlfriend/wife. Even more confusing to them when DH is pushing the stroller since most of the nannies we've seen are Filipino women. Then they start chattering about what's that, are they together, whose kid is that, is that his, is he a nanny, but she's white, if he's with her then he must not be from the Philipines, on and on. Quite funny since DH can understand them.

MrsBini10 · October 2011

Elenetxu, I totally would have scolded them. I'm such a teacher like that

in Ethiopia white people get stared at CONSTANTLY. And sometimes harassed too. Most people were just curious but some wanted to beg for money or make really rude comments.

azure_azure · October 2011

I France I don't get stared at. I'm in a very touristy town, so they are used to foreigners.

In Vietnam I was stared at all the time. I don't think one day passed without being stared at.

MintChocoChip · October 2011

Israelis were big into staring. Once on the bus, I was on the cell w my mom (talking on phones anywhere is normal/not deserving of staring eyes) and this kid wouldnt stop staring. I asked him in Hebrew if there was a problem-he quickly averted his eyes!

dulcemariamar1 · October 2011

I agree about people staring here. I think I freak most people out because I speak English but my husband usually answers me back in Spanish. Or we speak Spanglish.

allibally · October 2011

Swiss people stare a lot too. I would always get frustrated by it. I couldn't sit in the tram with out some person staring at me for the 20 minute journey. Oh gosh and if we were speaking English together it was even worse. And we lived in Zurich... you here English all over the place it's not like it's an exotic language. One time we had an old lady turn and look at us 5 times in a 10 minute journey. Indifferent

bugabean · October 2011

Danes keep to themselves. I don't think I've ever been stared at, though I did have some drunk people laugh about my bare feet a couple times.

MattNCarol · October 2011

People here stare as well, some men in a real pervy disrespectful way which is awkward. Tongue Tied My fianc? and I this time thinks that since we're both real white, with an ''american look'', and always speaking english that people imagine that we are BOTH ''gringos''. So, to take advantage of it, we make fun of people quite often lol, they cannot understand us anyway, and it's not in a mean way, just goofy. Stick out tongue

What is funny and a little bit odd to my fianc? is meeting people here, because they get way too amazed by the fact that he's american and speaks english, which it's so normal to my family and I. They stare at him, wants to hear him speaking in english because they think it's wonderful (idk why), and the poor guy just sits there smiling and trying to be polite as much as he can. Some times is really annoying, but we always deal with it fine.

I do believe that I always stared at people, but for an acceptable amount of seconds, nothing to make them feel bothered or anything like that. But yes, I'd say that I do stare, for a short time. lol maybe it's a latin thing? idk.

myblueangel19 · October 2011

I've never had a problem with starers here except for at a wedding I went to, I felt like EVERYONE there was staring. It turns out, that it is probably just because in my heels, I am about 6 feet tall and so unbelievably pale when wearing a white dress that ppl just were checking if I were alive. I noticed in the photos that my skin really stuck out!

MrsBini10 · October 2011

dulcemariamar1:
I agree about people staring here. I think I freak most people out because I speak English but my husband usually answers me back in Spanish. Or we speak Spanglish.

you'd fit right into the neighborhood where I teach! I'd say about half my class speaks Spanglish with their families

elenetxu · October 2011

myblueangel19:
I've never had a problem with starers here except for at a wedding I went to, I felt like EVERYONE there was staring. It turns out, that it is probably just because in my heels, I am about 6 feet tall and so unbelievably pale when wearing a white dress that ppl just were checking if I were alive. I noticed in the photos that my skin really stuck out!

heh. We met with our Spanish wedding photog today and he asked me if we got embarrassed. I said I had no problem heading into a bar in full wedding garb and hanging out with the locals and/or otherwise making fools of ourselves. Blondie here will stick out like a sore thumb in a wedding dress when people realize I'm not just another "darn British tourist."

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