The African Effect

Where to begin...this has got to be my favourite post!!

Do you know what it is like to be different?!
Oh yeah...I was different!

I visited a park where traditional Polish homestaeds were being showcased and one of the caretakers gave me a free pot. Here's what happened, she was showing us around and mentioned how traditionally some people made pots! I asked if I could touch them, she said sure. I picked it up and took a look at it and as I went to put it back...she said, "Keep it! Take it back to Africa with you!"
They weren't even on sale!!!
So I quickly stuffed it into my bag and thanked her. Taking it back to Africa indeed!!

Then there was the time a few people and I were positioning ourselves for a picture, and this one lady positioned herself behind me, I was seated, and let her hands run wild on my head. Impromptu head massage right there....and she kept muttering, "Ohhhhh, sooo different!!", while feeling my hair. I just sat there in mild shock and smiled. This came after someone else stopped me on the streets and asked to touch my hair so it was not that new. There was also the girl who could not take her eyes off me on a tram, so I turned to her and smiled, and she blurted out, "Your hair is so cool!" (flips hair in slow motions, says thank you!) Ha ha!

Not to mention the fact that in most situations other interns would be introduced and their nationality would be part of their identity. For example...Crystal from Singapore, Vir from india, Hannah from China...but me, no, not a country for me. Of course this was not always the case, but I was Kathleen from Africa. A whole continent! I was Africa! Hilarious!

Then there were the people who had other friends from Africa. They would strike up a conversation with me, ask where I am from, then tell me all about their friend from Nigeria or Ghana or Namibia and expect me to know all the places and events associated with the story...when really I have not been anywhere in Africa except Kenya, so I probably knew more about Poland than I did about these other African countries at that point.

Then there was that guy at a souvenir shop in Prague. I walked in with a couple of friends and first thing he says to me is..."Miss, we are from the same continent!" I would not have guessed so because he looked Arabic, but he was from Tunisia...I think. For the next 30 minutes or so, he just went on and on about everything under the sun! Yeah, one of those guys but he made my night.

Of course not forgetting the reaction when you meet other Africans...okay, non-North Africa Africans. We can spot each other from a mile away and depending on the situation...a glance, a smile, a conversation, perhaps even saving of seats for a 5 hour bus ride.
I met a couple of Nigerians, as I was traveling from Warsaw to Poznan, at the bus station. From across the waiting hall, they called out to me, "My sister, come sit next to us!" Could not hold the laughter in, so I obliged. We had the most delightful of conversations. They had me cracking up for a whole 5 hours on the bus.

Then of course there were Aunt M. and Billy Boy, the two other Kenyans I was lucky enough to hang out with. They of course take all this attention in their stride, living in the diaspora I suppose. The attention did bother me at first, but Aunt M came to visit and we hang out, and she silently reassured me that it is okay to be different. (Wonder if she knows this...) We were headed back to our hotel one night, and there was that bunch of teenagers who kept staring and giggling. Then when they got off, they shouted and waved. I personally was at a point where I was just tired and fed up, I just wanted to not be the centre of attention for two seconds, but Aunt M. smiled back at them and waved, then turned to me and said...well, I do not even remember what she said but she said it in a Luhya accent and she made me feel so much better. It is okay to be different, but we really are not that much different, are we?
Billy Boy gets a kick out of attributing the stares to his dashing good looks...that is another approach.
To think, just Kathleen, was someone's first taste of Africa.

I almost forgot, craziest thing anyone ever asked me... There was this one teacher at a school where we went to make our presentations. When it was time for questions, she asked...
"You dance a lot, back home?!"
"Yeah, Africans dance a lot, especially at weddings."
"Have you ever danced naked?!"
...huh?! :-o
I was so confused, ha ha!