As I think I mentioned in an earlier post, I felt totally under-dressed while in London - my no jeans, no cute heels, all travel-wear outfits definitely stood out in a crowd. Additionally, my straighter hasn't worked so I've been sporting this wavy fluffy hair that is pretty terrible.

By the time I left for Belgium, I was beginning to feel quite unattractive, but that all changed when I arrived. Unfortunately, too much attention is just as bad as no attention.

When I arrived at Central Station, a food stand worker helped me find a locker, then hung around for 10 minutes arguing with me about why I wasn't spending the night in Belgium, and insisting he would buy me a hotel room so I would stay. About 10 minutes later, someone else flagged me down from 50 feet away and ran up to me asking if I would wait around till he got off of work to go out.

That was all flattering and nice, but then I went to buy a postcard for Grandma Juanita, and the guy at the shop asked REPEATEDLY if he could touch my boobs, asking if they were real and if all Americans had such great ones (are you kidding me!!!!) He was quite persistent and was holding my change so I couldn't just walk out. I couldn't believe I had to say "no" several times, repeatedly show my ring, and finally be quite rude about getting my change back. And this was in a store!

I haven't been so harassed since my last trip to Mexico (and anyone who's heard me rant knows how I feel about that.) It's like, here the accent is a little more charming, but the sentiment is the same. It made me wonder if there are a lot of girls who have cultivated the idea that American girls are "easy," or if the guys are really just that ridiculous here.