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From Russia, With Love -- or not.
Mar. 23rd, 2008 10:18 amDo I look Russian? I never thought I did, but this is the third time I've been asked, in Tokyo, if I'm Russian. The first time was by a Japanese lady passing out pamphlets for a Russian Orthodox Easter service. The second time was by another Japanese lady, though I can't remember where it was. Then, as I was browsing the shoe section at OIOI* the other day, this tall foreign guy waved and smiled at me from another display. I wasn't wearing my glasses, but I was fairly sure I'd never seen him before in my life. He came over and asked, with a thick Russian accent, whether I was Russian.
I'm wondering whether he actually thought I looked Russian, or whether it was just an excuse to come on to me, because that's what he was doing -- and he was doing it pretty strongly for me to pick up on it right away. I'm rather dense when it comes to that sort of thing, because I never expect anyone to flirt with me, but I was on my game that day, and turned down his offer to buy me coffee. Not that he was bad-looking, or seemed too sleazy (for someone trying to pick up a girl shopping for shoes, anyway! XD), but I figure that recognising an attempted pick-up is the first step. Maybe I'll get to flirting, someday!
Hmm, I just had a thought -- the neighbourhood I was in, Kinshichou, does not have many foreigners, unless maybe there are hostess bars or massage parlours there that employ Russian girls? I did see one "Filipina Bar" near the station, after all.
Apart from being thought Russian, I've been told I look Central-European by two Swiss guys in a bar in Roppongi (after they'd asked if I indeed had any Germanic ancestry), and a German woman at Narita Airport started speaking to me in German out of the blue, and was quite surprised when I told her that I was not, in fact, German, nor did I speak it (to my great shame).
* It's pronounced "Marui", which indeed means "circle-one", but that's neither here nor there. I need input. Should I go for:
a) wedge heel, peep-toe, emerald green satin with little white polkadots;
or
b) wooden stack heel, peep-toe, bright yellow patent leather with little black polkadots and white ribbon edging?
So much choice! *orgasms over shoe selection in Tokyo* I'm unsure because while the green ones are my Favourite Colour Ever, the heel is higher and they're more expensive. And while I prefer satin to patent leather, the yellow ones are really, really adorable. On the other hand, I already have a pair of bright yellow (with blue sequin flowers!) flats and have never owned a pair of bright green shoes.
On the other, other hand, I really want to buy a pair of rain boots, and I need a pair of indoor shoes for my new job, and I also have only once worn my sexy, sexy blue heels. They're actually not as hard to walk in as I thought they'd be, height-wise, but they pinch my toes a bit after too long. Unfortunately, it's a common problem with me. Stupid fan-feet, slender from the ankle until they flare out at the ball. Makes it hard to find comfortable strappy sandals, especially here, where shoes are made narrower than back home.
I'm wondering whether he actually thought I looked Russian, or whether it was just an excuse to come on to me, because that's what he was doing -- and he was doing it pretty strongly for me to pick up on it right away. I'm rather dense when it comes to that sort of thing, because I never expect anyone to flirt with me, but I was on my game that day, and turned down his offer to buy me coffee. Not that he was bad-looking, or seemed too sleazy (for someone trying to pick up a girl shopping for shoes, anyway! XD), but I figure that recognising an attempted pick-up is the first step. Maybe I'll get to flirting, someday!
Hmm, I just had a thought -- the neighbourhood I was in, Kinshichou, does not have many foreigners, unless maybe there are hostess bars or massage parlours there that employ Russian girls? I did see one "Filipina Bar" near the station, after all.
Apart from being thought Russian, I've been told I look Central-European by two Swiss guys in a bar in Roppongi (after they'd asked if I indeed had any Germanic ancestry), and a German woman at Narita Airport started speaking to me in German out of the blue, and was quite surprised when I told her that I was not, in fact, German, nor did I speak it (to my great shame).
* It's pronounced "Marui", which indeed means "circle-one", but that's neither here nor there. I need input. Should I go for:
a) wedge heel, peep-toe, emerald green satin with little white polkadots;
or
b) wooden stack heel, peep-toe, bright yellow patent leather with little black polkadots and white ribbon edging?
So much choice! *orgasms over shoe selection in Tokyo* I'm unsure because while the green ones are my Favourite Colour Ever, the heel is higher and they're more expensive. And while I prefer satin to patent leather, the yellow ones are really, really adorable. On the other hand, I already have a pair of bright yellow (with blue sequin flowers!) flats and have never owned a pair of bright green shoes.
On the other, other hand, I really want to buy a pair of rain boots, and I need a pair of indoor shoes for my new job, and I also have only once worn my sexy, sexy blue heels. They're actually not as hard to walk in as I thought they'd be, height-wise, but they pinch my toes a bit after too long. Unfortunately, it's a common problem with me. Stupid fan-feet, slender from the ankle until they flare out at the ball. Makes it hard to find comfortable strappy sandals, especially here, where shoes are made narrower than back home.
