> (I hate looking stupid, especially in front of strangers, especially in front of male strangers--don't we all though?).
You should get over that. It is probably very important for your career (and life) that you not care about looking stupid in front of other people. It's going to happen (a LOT) in your professional career, dealing with it gracefully is one of the skills to have.
For many people, that's rather like asking them to "get over" their fear of heights; it's not very reasonable. It's the kind of thing you struggle through over the course of your lifetime, probably never totally solving it.
owch yeah. re-reading my words, they could be pretty harsh. I didn't mean for the glibness of my reply to imply that it would be easy - it's very hard! but from personal experience, it's very worth it.
You should get over that. It is probably very important for your career (and life) that you not care about looking stupid in front of other people. It's going to happen (a LOT) in your professional career, dealing with it gracefully is one of the skills to have.