I am a NICE Irish lass
OK. Someone in Glasgow described it to me as a "rough" city. That may be true.
However, Belfast is a Tough City.
To wit: walking around after dark last night (but still early: pre-8pm), I heard lots of men angrily and aggressively swearing. Fighting in alleys? Drunken brawls with walls? Posturing? Who knows.
Then. I was walking towards my hostel and spied 3-4 teenage girls (15ish?) waiting to cross the street in front of me. I was looking at them, thinking (rather unkindly, but not specifically at them), that fashion sense among Northern UKers, especially that of teens and the early 20s crowd, really is awful. Too tight, cheap, weather-inappropriate clothing. It's like they're dressing solely to show as much skin (and cellulite) as possible, in a way that will entice guys to sleep with them. I saw a great deal of girls (esp in Glasgow) wearing tiny, tight mini-skirts, with no tights or pantyhose (6-8 degree Celsius weather!!!!!) and teetering heels. To say they looked this side of trashy, even when the clothes were not totally cheap, is an understatement.
Anyway. So one of these girls noticed my longer-than-momentary glance. She kept one eye on me, slid a second eye to one of her friends, and then when I was just past them, they quite aggressively yelled something like "Don't be looking at us!"
Now, I'm not often frightened, but I know that in this situation, I was either: one more look [at them] or three words from a fight with them. Were they posturing? Most definitely. Was, at least, the one girl spoiling for a fight? Quite possibly. Considering the odds (to refresh: 3-4:1) and the fact that I really didn't feel like getting in to it either verbally or physically, I just kept walking.
I'm just to relaxed and laid-back these days for stuff like this. I don't like worrying about the other people on the street after dark. I didn't when I was walking around Manhattan or Brooklyn after dark, and I don't feel I should here. But, such it is here.
This is still the UK, so taxis are expensive (but not as expensive as internet time here in Belfast -- towards $6 an hour!!). I will just confine most of my walking around until pre-nightfall.
However, Belfast is a Tough City.
To wit: walking around after dark last night (but still early: pre-8pm), I heard lots of men angrily and aggressively swearing. Fighting in alleys? Drunken brawls with walls? Posturing? Who knows.
Then. I was walking towards my hostel and spied 3-4 teenage girls (15ish?) waiting to cross the street in front of me. I was looking at them, thinking (rather unkindly, but not specifically at them), that fashion sense among Northern UKers, especially that of teens and the early 20s crowd, really is awful. Too tight, cheap, weather-inappropriate clothing. It's like they're dressing solely to show as much skin (and cellulite) as possible, in a way that will entice guys to sleep with them. I saw a great deal of girls (esp in Glasgow) wearing tiny, tight mini-skirts, with no tights or pantyhose (6-8 degree Celsius weather!!!!!) and teetering heels. To say they looked this side of trashy, even when the clothes were not totally cheap, is an understatement.
Anyway. So one of these girls noticed my longer-than-momentary glance. She kept one eye on me, slid a second eye to one of her friends, and then when I was just past them, they quite aggressively yelled something like "Don't be looking at us!"
Now, I'm not often frightened, but I know that in this situation, I was either: one more look [at them] or three words from a fight with them. Were they posturing? Most definitely. Was, at least, the one girl spoiling for a fight? Quite possibly. Considering the odds (to refresh: 3-4:1) and the fact that I really didn't feel like getting in to it either verbally or physically, I just kept walking.
I'm just to relaxed and laid-back these days for stuff like this. I don't like worrying about the other people on the street after dark. I didn't when I was walking around Manhattan or Brooklyn after dark, and I don't feel I should here. But, such it is here.
This is still the UK, so taxis are expensive (but not as expensive as internet time here in Belfast -- towards $6 an hour!!). I will just confine most of my walking around until pre-nightfall.
posted by Shana @ 9:13 AM
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