Mutt - your post brought back some hilarious memories of my time in that particular country, especially the experiences with ATC. Most of the time, things went along just fine, but on occasion, I would get one of these two reactions: 1) "calling XXX, say again", or 2) dead silence. The first type of response was because (according to a friend of mine who worked with the local controllers) some of them liked hearing a woman's voice so much that they made us repeat everything, even if they had heard it clearly the first time! And of course we all know the reason for the second type of response.
To be fair, though, most of the people (military and civilian) were very professional, and nice to me as well, and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. However, it certainly opened my eyes!
TDR - Your thread has made me realize something ... even though female pilot issues have become "old news" to me, I see now that for other people, it may not be old news at all.
It's sad when people assume the worst in someone, based on their own misguided stereotypes. Thankfully, though, the vast majority of pilots I've ever worked with are people who are much more level-headed, and their only concern is job performance, not gender.
[This message has been edited by McD (edited 19 June 2001).]