Today I am sick of being a tourist. I'm sick of being yelled at, followed, grabbed, dragged, pulled, and pushed. UGH! All of it!
All of this I'm sure has been heightened by the new city I'm in: Danang.
The German girl I met in Cambodia described Saigon very much the way I feel about Danang. Constant noise at stupid volumes. Insane traffic. Rude people and someone, multiple someones, always in your face.
I'm tired of "being rude" if for one minute I don't want to smile and play games or answer the plethora of questions meant to trap and ensnare me into dishonest games.
I don't want to be on display anymore. "My western ways" of space and quiet, and respect for other people's body (there have not been any inappropriate touching-I don't mean to imply that, but there is tugging, pulling, blocking one's way, and literal in-your-face confrontation of whining and pretend begging), wishes, requests is screaming out.
I ended up going to the movies just to get a much lowered level of volume. I saw Harry Potter 7.1. Funny when you go to a loud movie theater for some peace and quiet. I need some solice and it's no where to be found, even and especially at the hotel. SO LOUD. All. the. time. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!
*sigh* I found a cafe ran by the deaf :)....aaaaahhhh. Still loud but not as much. a bit of peace. It was fun to not have people constantly talking to me...it was like a family there, that little group. And I did do a bit of eves-dropping to see how many of the signs I recognized. I was able to understand quite a bit of it, if not the details, at least the main topic. I will come back tomorrow if I'm still in town even though, like the rest of Vietnam, I don't love the bland food.
I've also taken to pretending I don't speak English :). It works some times believe it or not. A few speak French and will give that a try but if I do a Nordic (i.e. Swedish) or Germanic accent with gibberish talk, I can get a little less attention.
I'm ready for a little more Laos and lot less Vietnam.
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