Rude or smart?

It is SO hard to know what to do sometimes here. Lots of people try to talk to us. You can tell a lot of them are just jerks trying to get a response or who would later ask if you need a guide and then insist on money. We were told to ignore everyone and not feel bad about it, and in the old medina I feel like that's a very good rule. Sometimes outside of it, though, it's harder.

The other day I was walking home with another girl in my class and a guy tried to say sthg to us. Assuming he was just another jerk sitting near a store in a touristy area, we ignored him and went into a little store-stand to see if they had stamps. They didn't, but when we left, the guy we had just ignored told us where to find them. Oops. Still, with several shouts of "beautiful" and for some reason "Spice Girls" I don't feel bad for ignoring adults.

I had been wondering about what to do with kids. Little boys in the medina can be pretty aggressive, and again I was comfortable with brushing them off. But outside of there, maybe they are just trying to practice their language skills. I was staring blankly in the direction of a store area and a woman inside waved at me. I smiled back and heard a little girl call "bonjour!" and her mom corrected her, so she changed it to 'bonsoir!' and I laughed and said bonsoir back.

After a few minutes, a little girl came up and looked like she was going to pass me. On her way past, she said bonjour. I decided to say it back. Then she stayed with me. And asked for a pen. I told her no. Then she asked for candy. I said no again. If she asked me again I was going to tell her 'shame on you' which is sort of an effective thing - apparently in public people care, but when no one else is around (like me & the little girl) other students have said they don't care because there's no one there to enforce the 'shame.' Luckily she gave up on me and went back the other way. Brat.

It feels ridiculous because I think the nice, honest people are going to start thinking that foreigners are all unfriendly jerks, but it's not worth it to get followed or harassed by the jerk locals. And I bet that some of the Moroccans are well aware of the treatment of foreigners, but certainly not all. And not the little honest little kids that I will now be ignoring.

I also get annoyed by the tourists who fall for it - who would just give the little girl stuff not realizing that it's not cool and it's going to get her to keep asking everyone for gifts, or money. Or the girls who giggle or chat with the boys when they call them spice girls or britney spears. If they would all just knock it off, the rest of us could probably walk down the street without so many shouts. Brain-dead jerks. I think some people do it out of wanting to 'help' when they see the level of poverty, but that is NOT the way to do it.