Strange behaviors

One of more bizzare things I have to adjust to now that I'm here in the States are the random individuals who will just shout, sing, chatter, and talk to you out of nowhere. Riding the public transportation is always an interesting experience if you want to live like the locals, and you get to see how the average citizens interact.

Here in the States, I think I get to observe the behaviors that are far removed from my expereince back home or in any other country I have visited(Except Russia). There are random men would just introduce themselves to you on the street, black women arguing loudly in the steets, you have people singing in a bus, you have a man who shush other passengers for talking in loud voices and "breaking his concentration," after which he proceeds to jabber loudly about absoultely random things. Don't be suprised if a gay guy with red lipstick taps you on the shoulder in Walgreens and asks for money for his HIV treatment. I was on the way to the bank the other day when a guy sat right infront of me and greeted me in Tagalog. He then proceeds to tell me about living in the Philippines and then asked for my email address. Hookay.

But inspite of these behaviors that I am not used to, I am happy to note that I haven't felt any fear of violence from any individual. In Russia where people seem stoic and expressionless, I experienced my first ever random physical assault. Attacked out of nowhere, or having a glazed man sitting beside you in a bus talking about music then jumping to his least favorite politicians? I'd tolerate the strange loud man whose biggest bother is his voice penetrating your iPod listening, over the quiet one who'd jump on you in broad daylight any day.