I don't mind running into former and present students off campus, as long as I'm not somewhere that I shouldn't be...lol. Of course, after 12 years of teaching, I may not remember everyone's name.

The only time I don't enjoy running into students is when they decide that I'm their long lost best friend and they want to talk for 30 or 40 minutes in the grocery store....ah, I'm doing something....say hello, good to see you, catch up BRIEFLY, and then let's both get back to what we were doing.

I can understand why it is strange to run into teachers off campus, but keep in mind that we have lives off campus too...I go to bars, to the grocery store, to the mall, to Wal-Mart, just like lots of other people. Ultimately, professors are just human beings...flawed, confused humans...some are much more flawed than others...lol