What to do when flirted with

While waiting for the next blog roll topic or to think of something else to blog about I'm going back to a topic the rest of the group wrote about before I joined: flirting. Most people wrote about a guide to flirting they had read, generally from the perspective of the flirter. After thinking about the topic for a bit  I've decided that rather than end up repeating what others have already written I'm going to write about being the flirtee.

A few examples:
A rather empty cafe in Amsterdam. My sister and I ordering some food to take away. The guy serving us chatting (in perfect English) and asking us questions about where we were from, what we were doing in Amsterdam etc.  Friendly, bored and lonely or flirtatious? Given all of our ages and the tone of his voice we thought the latter.

Late afternoon in a souvenir shop in Prague. Alone I walked in in search of a small souvenir or two and was greeted by a young man (who may or may not have worked there, I couldn't figure it out). The greeting didn't stop at "Hello, how are you? Can I help you with anything?" He went on to ask about my plans for that evening and whether I would meet him later so he could show me some of the cool bars and clubs. There was no way I was going to say yes, I don't think many girls traveling alone would. I hadn't seen it coming and didn't really know how to respond. I think I mumbled something about already having something to do and walked out quickly without turning around.

Walking from the train station to the hostel in Geneva.  Another young man who spoke English suddenly came up beside me. He started talking to me, asking me the standard 'where are you from?', 'what are you doing here?' questions. But he wouldn't be easily put off. He was determined to engage me in conversation and walk me to my hostel. After a while he got the message that I wasn't really interested and that I didn't need any help finding my hostel and left.

All of these could just be examples of friendly people wanting to be nice to a tourist but the fact they were all young men and the things they said and the unusual nature of each conversation suggested otherwise. (I may be widening the definition of flirting a bit.) The first situation was ok. It was more of a friendly chat and it ended naturally and easily. The second two were more awkward and I wanted to get away from them.

Things to think about:
How do you get rid of someone, especially a stranger, who you don't really want to talk to or flirt with? Are there some situations where it is ok to lie (and say you have to be somewhere or you're going to meet someone etc) or be rude and just tell them to go away (although I don't think I'd be brave enough to do that)? Should I be more open to talking to strangers or was I right to be suspicious and uncomfortable? Are there things you can do to not get in awkward flirting situations in the first place? (I know one girl who wore a cheap plastic diamond ring)

 From the perspective of the flirter: don't be weird or intimidating. If you want to flirt stick to people you know, comfortable situations and make it natural. If you want to be nice to a stranger or help a tourist think carefully about how you can do so, leave as soon as you've done what you set out to do unless it is clear they don't mind the company and are happy to keep talking to you, and choose your helpee carefully putting yourself in their shoes.

 Yes I did notice that all my examples are from overseas. I don't know if that's because NZ men are different or I just don't often end up in situations where I end up alone with strange men when I'm not traveling.