Color.

Every day here I am reminded of the color of my skin. Whether it is the “Lekgowa!” comment that I literally can’t get through one day without hearing (Lekgowa means white person in Sepedi) or a child that cries when I approach or looks at his finger after touching my skin to see if my whiteness will rub off?  Yet, it is also the special treatment that I get that reminds me I am different. The extra food my hosts want to provide, the chair I am offered when no one else has one, the offer of a ride when I am walking? I don’t want to seem ungrateful for anyone’s generosity but I struggle with being treated differently (good or bad) when I have done nothing to deserve or warrant it.


Being part of this journey has made me acutely aware of the opportunity we all have to try to see people for who they are – regardless of the color of their skin or what they are wearing or how they look on the outside. To look a little deeper, to ask questions, to get to know a person.  I hope that you all will make an effort.  For me.