The Bane of Beauty

I've put off this entry because it seemed somewhat self-absorbed. I mean to say, "I'm too pretty for my own good" is more than a little conceited.

But do you know how much free coffee I could be getting?

I have a lot of men stop me and ask if they can buy me a coffee. Once when I was in the city center I had this friendly looking man who wasn't elderly, but was definitely older than my father stop me. I thought he was simply asking for directions because his first words were, "Sei da Firenze?" Are you from Florence? I said, "No, but I live here, maybe I can help you." But he didn't need help, he just wanted to take me to get some coffee. I was busy going about my other tasks, so I rejected him.

And that was just one experience. Just last night there was a guy on the street who asked me out to dinner. He'd known me for maybe about 2 seconds before his proposed date. I wasn't too keen on going out with strangers, so I let him down.

I don't know if it is something about my comportment that makes me obviously foreign (American students do have a reputation), or if Italians are just more of the go-getter type and talking to someone is no prerequisite for a little coffee-date. The first few times getting hit on so frequently was a real self-confidence builder. Especially for this girl, but now fending off interested men has become a chore.

Ciao, bella is not as endearing as it once was. Depending on the inflection, I would translate it as, "Hey baby," especially when it is accompanied by kissing sounds. Some of these would-be boyfriends go about wooing the girl on the street in a nicer way. They use the more formal "Buongiorno" or "Buonasera bella," and don't harass you when you don't respond.

It is tough being this beautiful.