(no subject)
The highlight of my break: almost being molested in New York.
In Brooklyn, there's this section called Brighton Beach; it's basically an all Russian community. When we go to Philadelphia every year, we almost always go to Brighton Beach for a day to go shopping, go to restaurants, etc (By the way, judging from the CDs we bought, 2006 was NOT a good year for Russian music).
So, my family goes into a liquor store because you know how Russians like the drink. Well, the store was really small and cramped so my sister, my (female) cousin, and I decide to head outside. On our way out, this really REALLY creepy guy who was standing at the counter basically checked us out and said [in English], "Hi, girls. How are you? Happy New Year." Although this may harmless, you really had to be there to see his general creepyness and hear his creepy Russian accent. But this isn't what bothered me the most.
After my sister, my cousin, and I left the store, my mom followed. On her way out, she told us, the creepy Russian man said to her [in Russian], "Mama, give me two. I'm going to dance with them. I need to lose weight." It's creepy enough in English but a lot of the creepyness gets lost in translation.
Oh, but that's not it. After we ate, my uncle wanted to back to the same liquor store to buy some more to take home. Well, this time there was a drunk, homeless guy pissing on the street in front of the store. Whilst he was taking care of his business, he basically invited my mother, my sister, my cousing, and myself to join him. We just wandered over to a jewelry store window and pretended to admire the necklaces. Well, after creepy man #2 was finished taking a piss, he decided to invite himself over. Luckily, my dad came out of the store in time to shoo him away as he started approaching us.
Although I feel kinda terrible saying it and I probably don't have the right to, to be approached by these men, especially the last one, made me feel...dirty. And during the latter encounter, I was honestly scared out of my wits. And, although I again shouldn't really say it, I almost feel as though I've been sexually harrassed. I'm really lucky, though, that something much worse didn't happen.
Don't get me wrong, though. Brighton Beach is a fun place...as long as you don't go into or by a liquor store.
If someone wants Russian music, I'll be happy to provide you with it.
Anyways, overall, I had a really nice break. It was a lot of fun. And I miss my family in PA. Philadelphia is a kazillion times prettier than Detroit. And a kazillion times less scary, too. So is Times Square. We actually walked through it this time. It's spectacular.
I think I'll end my stream of thought writing here.
In Brooklyn, there's this section called Brighton Beach; it's basically an all Russian community. When we go to Philadelphia every year, we almost always go to Brighton Beach for a day to go shopping, go to restaurants, etc (By the way, judging from the CDs we bought, 2006 was NOT a good year for Russian music).
So, my family goes into a liquor store because you know how Russians like the drink. Well, the store was really small and cramped so my sister, my (female) cousin, and I decide to head outside. On our way out, this really REALLY creepy guy who was standing at the counter basically checked us out and said [in English], "Hi, girls. How are you? Happy New Year." Although this may harmless, you really had to be there to see his general creepyness and hear his creepy Russian accent. But this isn't what bothered me the most.
After my sister, my cousin, and I left the store, my mom followed. On her way out, she told us, the creepy Russian man said to her [in Russian], "Mama, give me two. I'm going to dance with them. I need to lose weight." It's creepy enough in English but a lot of the creepyness gets lost in translation.
Oh, but that's not it. After we ate, my uncle wanted to back to the same liquor store to buy some more to take home. Well, this time there was a drunk, homeless guy pissing on the street in front of the store. Whilst he was taking care of his business, he basically invited my mother, my sister, my cousing, and myself to join him. We just wandered over to a jewelry store window and pretended to admire the necklaces. Well, after creepy man #2 was finished taking a piss, he decided to invite himself over. Luckily, my dad came out of the store in time to shoo him away as he started approaching us.
Although I feel kinda terrible saying it and I probably don't have the right to, to be approached by these men, especially the last one, made me feel...dirty. And during the latter encounter, I was honestly scared out of my wits. And, although I again shouldn't really say it, I almost feel as though I've been sexually harrassed. I'm really lucky, though, that something much worse didn't happen.
Don't get me wrong, though. Brighton Beach is a fun place...as long as you don't go into or by a liquor store.
If someone wants Russian music, I'll be happy to provide you with it.
Anyways, overall, I had a really nice break. It was a lot of fun. And I miss my family in PA. Philadelphia is a kazillion times prettier than Detroit. And a kazillion times less scary, too. So is Times Square. We actually walked through it this time. It's spectacular.
I think I'll end my stream of thought writing here.