A Touch of the Inappropriate (Kind)

Up until two days ago, i was creepy person-free. Had been since...well, a really long time. I kept hearing stories from other people here about people being too friendly, to forward, or just plain too close; one girl's butt was grabbed by a pre-pubescent metro-goer, and another was invited to personally tutor a spanish-speaking man, and the stories abound. I wasn't able to relate until yesterday, when an elderly gentleman seated himself across from me on the metro, put his coat in his lap, and proceeded to slowly slouch further and further down, adjusting his coat for better visability, so that he could slowly rub his knees against mine. At first I thought I was overreacting, but my repeated failed attempts to sufficiently rearrange my knees and his weird glances up at me, then to his coat/knees, then back up to me signaled that something was wrong here... I tried to just wait it out, but I still had five stops to go when I pushed my way through about 15 people to get off and wait for the next train.

That was over, done, watch out for weirdos on the metro, lesson learned, right?

Wrong. Not everybody tries to touch you, but that doesn't make them ANY less creepy. I took the metro home, a short ride, four stops, off. Most of the seats were taken when I got on so I stood toward the back, knowing it would only get more crowded. I got off at my stop and was headed toward the exit when somebody next to me asked, "Parlez vous francais?" I kept walking until this guy was right next to me, looking down at me, asking, "Ca va? Parlez vous francais?" I half smiled and ignored him. He tried to keep talking to me, but the crowd prevented him, and he gave up and went up the escalator a ways ahead of me. I was relieved.

Until I got to the top of the escalator and saw him looking for someone. He started walking right, so I went left, but he saw me and ran to catch up. He kept talking and I tried to ignore him and keep walking but he wouldn't leave me alone, so I kept walking. If he asked a question, I tried to ignore him or say, "Sorry, I don't understand," but then he'd just respond, "Yes, you do," and keep following. "My name is Abdul, I just want to be your friend, I have other American friends, You are too beautiful..." I kept going all the way to my house, at this point he knew my name (stupid!), that I was American (stupid!) and that I had no ohone number (he held out his phone and I kept saying no, no, no, no but he kept holding it out to me anyway, asking for at least my US number which I also declined to give) and no e-mail address (2 brain cells worked that time), but I couldn't stop at the house because I didn't want him to know where I lived and come back... Especially since I'd already told him I would be here a week (at least I didn't say more). I wanted to call the house and tell them I was going to be home so they could come outside and make him leave me alone/scare him off, but I'd already said I didn't have a phone and I didn't want to get caught in THAT lie... He followed me around 4 blocks until I circled one, and he finally said, "Vous voulez que je vous laisse? (Do you want me to leave you alone?") and I said, "Oui, s'il vous plait," and he crossed the street and ran down to the next block and out of sight. I checked to the side and behind me every 3 paces on my way back home...