I knew cruises were often like that
And on my end I don't know. Interestingly enough, my mother doesn't know it either. Because she used to take me to Green Tortoise trips back when I was around 20. But I know for a fact she didn't want me to date, since she saw me as much younger than my age. In fact, she went to those trips with me. We are from Russia. Could it be the cultural thing that she didn't know?
Although at the same time she met my dad on backpacking trips. But I don't think that was her purpose of going there. I mean, even though they started when they were single, they continued going to those trips long after they got married. In fact my parents were taking me to those trips when I was a kid. And they were not the only ones. Most people there, at least the ones that we know, became married couples, with kids, and were taking their kids there. Even though they were single when they first met.
Could it be a cultural difference between Russia and America? Like in Russia they go to university to study, in America they go to university to party. In Russia they go to those trips because they like nature, in America they go to those trips to find dates? And, speaking about university, could it be that, within American context, my going back to school at an older age means my trying to hit on much younger girls? Since thats what universities are for? And THATS WHY they treat me as creepy before I ever talked to them -- cause I was "hitting on them" by the virtue of being at the university campus?
Here is another question that I have. So back when I was 22, I was studying at the office till past midnight, and then on my way home I was going to one of those shops to buy some food and then collapse on the bed. A cashier kept trying to talk to me, and I was just giving her short answers so that I can go home and eat that food I was buying. One time she said to her male friend "I am in love with that guy", he said "who", she said "comes in here, never talks". I was wondering ever since whether she was referring to me. On the one hand they won't say things like that in front of someone, but on the other hand the word "that" refers to someone in front of you, and "comes in here never talks" describes me. I never had guts to ask her.
Then, few years later, I was similarly going to Jimmy Jones on my way home in the middle of the night. And one of the cashiers was trying to talk to me there too, and I was ingoring her for the same reason. She didn't use the L-word, but she went out of the way to try to talk to me, to the point of them actually calling her to talk to me or take my order.
Now, looking back, I feel like I was really stupid that I ignored them. I literally spent hours on dating sites. Why couldn't I just respond to those girls? I was thinking "that was my once in a lifetime luck, why did I waste it?"
But now that you mentioned that cruise thing, could it be that I wasn't nearly as lucky as I thought I was? Could it be that, instead, the whole reason why those "food stores" are open at night is so that young people can hit on the young cashiers, and those cashiers were specifically choosing late hours in order to be hit on? Of course, a grocery store and a Jimmy Jones are both very far from being a bar. But could it be that their late hours have similar purpose?
If, today, I find some place that is open late hours and actually go there with that specific goal in mind, do you think I will succeed, or is it too late since I am old?
By the way, I used to do all nighters in Dennys and IHOP, in order to study without disractions. Nobody tried to hit on me there. And I didn't see anyone else hitting on each other either. So how to tell between the places that do have that hidden agenda and the ones that don't?