While I was at Sandra’s house (the other American student), our Ugandan friend Godfrey commented that I was more white than when I left Uganda in August. This is true enough; I’ve always been the “fairest” of them all. Sandra was somewhat appalled at his observation, and thought that no one in the US would comment on my skin tone, which actually, isn’t true. I think the high contrast between the fair skin and dark hair has prompted any number of comments over the years.
Etiquette aside, I was amazed that Godfrey even noticed. I didn’t have a raging tan when I left, but then again, this is a country where people drive by millimeters, as Alison Barfoot puts it. I saw a taxi roll back towards another taxi until it was truly about a quarter of an inch from the other taxi’s bumper, and the driver never flinched. For some reason, I seem to be equating exceptional spatial skills with skills of perception, which may or may not be accurate.
Except that two other people have told me that I’m whiter than when I left. In August. With a faint tan. And now they say that I’m whiter. When I ask how they noticed, they just shrug. I guess I better work on my tan so I can show them how imperceptible the difference is.
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