WHen i went to england a few days ago, I got so many stares from men and women when on the tubes. I'm a fair skinned black female - and i just wanted to know....do the british see a lot of nationalities like me? or was it because i was american???

Georgia ..how do you think we knew you were American? (unless you had one of those ghastly pink jogging suits on).

Or were you wearing a kilt, and they thought you were Scottish?

Maybe they just thought you were attractive!

Georgia...maybe they just thought you were attractive and/or exotic. I would pick that one if it were me...&lt;smile&gt;. <BR>Smile back at them and make points for the rest of us Americans. Linda

Now then Georgia, you have to e-mail me a photo so *I* can help you decide. My guess is you are attractive. By the way, did you read the/our ridiculous thread called, "I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison?" (If not do a search--it's funny) If so, these are some of the possibilities: <BR> <BR>1) You were drinking Haggis from a tube, on the tube. <BR>2) You were naked (if so, be sure and include that with the picture). <BR>3) Your blouse said, "I'm with stupid&gt;" and you were alone. <BR>4) You had gypsies all around you, oggling, and licking your shoes. <BR> <BR>Just a thought..

My husband and I have always noticed the same thing about european metros (subways). While sitting there it seems that people stare at each other for longer than we would here in the states. Since we ride the New York subways all of the time, perhaps we are simply used to the fact that you never glance at another for more than a second and never really look into ones eyes. Many times while on the New York subways we can tell who is a foreign by the fact that they stare at other people for more than a few seconds. Not a bad trait, just not something we are used to.

PS. By the way we are not black. I am a fair skinned blonde and my husband is european looking. So I don't think it was necessarily your skin color, just a habit of the europeans to stare on the subways.

PS. By the way we are not black. I am a fair skinned blonde and my husband is european looking. So I don't think it was necessarily your skin color, just a habit of the europeans to stare on the subways.

I agree with Valerie....Europeans tend to stare (or look closely) at people, more so than Americans do. We've been engrained with "Don't make eye contact", that's probably why so many of us are victims of petty crime in Europe. I'm black and everytime my sister and I go anywhere (Europe, Brazil, Mexico) people stare at us. It's more curiosity than hostility. <BR> <BR>There are tons of brown-skinned people in the UK. People might have been trying to figure out your ethnicity. If you thought the "staring" was bad in England, take a trip to Italy. Conversations will end when you walk in the room!

On a serious note (kilts aside...so to speak): it's possible you looked like a local celebrity (a friend, non-football fan, visiting Miami, couldn't figure out why he got stared at in a restaurant. He looks like Dan Marino...we've told him that but he has no clue who Dan Marino is). And, yes, Europeans do make eye contact for longer that Americans. Just smile...throws 'em into a tizzy.

Hiya well I'm a Londoner and I ride the tube everyday. I have also been to the US many times. Yes Europeans do look tend to stare especially the Brits on the tube and buses and trains. You must have noticed that here in the UK there are many Brits of different ethnic origin. This is a huge multi-racial society. I think it was probably a combination of our tendancy to stare, and your attractiveness! We are always told in school and at work to look people in the eye all the time. It inspires confidence and trust. So come on Americans don't look away at each other!!!!

Well Steve answered my 15 year question as to why europeans stare at a stranger for more than a few seconds. But I must reply to Steve that we americans are taught as well to look a person square in the eye, however during interaction/ conversation. It is considered to be impolite here in the States to stare at a stranger, well I can only speak for the New York area. Ironically this happened to me this weekend while on the subway in NYC. I noticed a young British guy staring at me and it frightened me as I was alone. I was about to yell at him "What you've got a problem"? Then I heard his accent as he talked, then realized. I would have been so embarrassed otherwise. Now when traveling overseas I do not take offense. One other note is that I have determined that it is not how one looks, be it beautiful or plain looking.

Just don't look at or speak to anyone on the elevator. Its strange how people change once they get on a crowded elevator. That and semi trucks (lorries for you people in the UK) always trying to pass going up hill are two of the great mysteries of life.

Dan: Allow me to solve 1 of your "Great Mysteries Of Life". It's usually not so much that the truckdriver wants to pass you going uphill, it's more that he wants to keep his speed up. Because of the weight of the truck/load he is going to lose momentum going uphill. We call it "making a run on a hill/mountain", exceed the speed limit before the grade so you won't be going too slow (also a hazard) when you hit the top. That is why a truck will try to pass you going only a few mph more than you, because if he slows down he'll never regain the momentum/speed. BTW going downhill, it's the opposite effect with the weight/momentum we *don't* stop very well. Regards, Walter <BR> <BR>

Walter, so there is a method, and I am not just imagining things. Actually, I rarely get passed by a truck on the way to work. I drive 42 miles each way five days a week, so I tend to put the car on cruise control (to maintain my own speed) at let's say a little (not a lot) above the speed limit. On the four lane - not a problem. On the two lane section though, the trucks when passing in this way are a serious impediment to my own progress (and safety?). Since they are going uphill slightly above the speed of the vehicle they are passing it can take forever to get around them. I always wondered why they don't see me coming and just wait until faster traffic passes before changing lanes. They seem to always pull out right before I get there. Makes a little more sense after your explanation. Our area (Raleigh-Durham-Greensboro) is one of the fastest growing in the country for semi traffic. Not to start an argument - just wondering. Really got off the topic with this one didn't I, unless someone cares to discuss the different propensities of European and American truck drivers to look at women on the public transportation as they pass going uphill.

Sorry Walt, I don't quite buy it. Yes, I think trucks should try to gain speed before climbing a hill and I see that often -- however I also experience Dan's mystery, and on perfectly flat highways. One truck will intentionally try to pass another with a relative speed of 2 MPH and spend a virtual 1/2 hour doing so, while traffic backs-up behind. <BR> <BR>Regarding elevators: it's usually a short trip, why start anything? <BR>

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Lifts, lorries, and blondes in pink jogging suits staring at me because I'm an American carrying home Haggis-ina-tubeTM -- where else but here? &lt;@