I didn't ignore them. I moved and sat between them and shared some topics like filipino nurses here. I said we have 40,000+ nurses here and paying tax, and cannot work here if not gained at least 7.0 in their IELTS. And they didn't know about it.
Too right! Well done Penny, take the fight to them and educate them otherwise they will just absorb the usual stereotypical gossip and repeat it over and over.