(My boyfriend and I have been dating for about six months. We are outside walking around when my boyfriend, who normally doesn’t like public displays of affection, ostentatiously puts his arm around me.)

Me: “What’s going on?”

Boyfriend: “Nothing. Just, well, that’s my ex.”

(I can’t help looking because the way he tells their breakup, she’s the Wicked Witch of the West. She looks completely normal.)

Me: “Oh, I see.”

Boyfriend: “I bet she’s going to come over here and make a huge fuss.”

(Our paths do cross, but it looks pretty innocent to me.)

Boyfriend: “Oh, hi, [Ex].”

Ex: “Hey, [Boyfriend]. How’s it going?”

Boyfriend: “Oh, great. Fantastic. This is [My Name]. My girlfriend.”

Ex: *smiling* “Hello, nice to meet you. Sorry I can’t chat; I’m meeting someone. Take care now.” *crosses the street*

Boyfriend: “See what I mean! What a b****, blowing us off like that!”

Me: “I thought you didn’t want to talk to her.”

Boyfriend: “Well, I mean, she didn’t used to talk or act like that.”

Me: “… Polite?”

Boyfriend: “No. See, when she’s all formal like that it means she really doesn’t like you. She’s way more casual normally.”

Me: “Or maybe it’s because I’m a complete stranger and she didn’t want to be rude?”

Boyfriend: “Well, whatever. The ice queen isn’t my problem any more.” *pause* “I wonder who she’s meeting?”

Me: “Probably her.”

(I point across the street to where his ex-girlfriend is giving an affectionate kiss to another woman.)

Boyfriend: “She’s GAY?! Why didn’t she TELL me?”

Me: “You would have been okay with it?”

Boyfriend: “We were together for YEARS! I totally wanted a threesome and she knew it. She was just holding out on me!”

(My relationship with him didn’t last too much longer after that, especially once he started trying to push me to ‘decide’ that I liked women, too.)

(My friend and I are taking an afternoon walk through our neighborhood when a car with two guys pulls up.)

Guy: “Heeeeey.”

(We ignore them.)

Guy: “Hey. Hey!”

(We ignore them again.)

Guy: “Say hi!”

(This pisses me off.)

Me: “No! Go away!”

(They drive off. I blink and look at my friend.)

Me: “Did… did that actually work?”

(I have just finished withdrawing some money at the ATM. A clearly poor man approaches me from behind. Usually, I would expect someone to come up to me to beg for money.)

Man: “I do not know how to use the machine. Can you help me?”

Me: “Sure!”

(The man hands me his card, and I insert it into the machine.)

Man: “Can you check how much I have on my account?”

Me: “Okay. It is asking for your pin.”

Man: *without even thinking about it* “It is 1234.”

Me: “It says you have 20 Namibian Dollars.”

(Note: A loaf of bread cost N$ 5.)

Man: “I’d like all of it.”

(I withdraw the money, and give him back his card and the money. He immediately hands me back N$ 10.)

Man: “This is for you, because you helped me.”

(I hand it back to him.)

Me: “Please, keep it!”

(It is one of the most touching things to ever happen to me.)

(I’m walking down the street when an older man approaches me.)

Older man: “Hey there.”

Me: “Hi.”

Older man: “How old are you?”

Me: “Um, well I’m an adult.”

Older man: “Married?”

Me: “Sir, please stop asking personal questions.”

Older man: “Sorry, but my son really needs a wife.”

Me: “I don’t even live here, I’m on vacation.” *I begin walking away*

Older man: *chases after me* “Doesn’t matter. Ah, aren’t you Chinese? I have to talk to your parents about marriage, right?”

Me: “Sir, please leave me alone.”

(Suddenly, a younger man who is across the street begins yelling.)

Younger man: “Dad! Quit nagging girls. I can find my own wife.”

(The younger man crosses street to talk to me.)

Younger man: “Sorry, young lady. My dad is not happy that my younger brother is getting married before me. Says it’s bad luck!”

(I’m a teenager going door to door, collecting cans for a food bank and soup kitchen. A man answers the door at one house.)

Me: “Hello, sir. Would you like to donate cans to [Charity Organization]?”

Man: “Do you have ID?”

Me: “No, I’m just a high school student collecting cans.”

Man: “How do I know you’re not a homeless girl trying to steal my food?”

Me: *speechless*

Man: “You could be an alien for all I know!” *slams door*