Wednesday, November 16, 2011
This will be a quick blog; about some of the things I have had people say to me, in reference to the clothing that I wear.
In America there are just some things that you don’t say to a person, especially to a woman:
1 – I had a pair of pants made that ended up being slightly tight, so when I put my hands in my pockets and split the pocket a friend in Rwanda said, “Oh, this is no problem, your legs are just wider than your pants!”
2 – I had a skirt made at a different market, and instead of trying the skirt on in front of everyone, I said I would take it home and if there were any problems I would bring it back. Of course the skirt was too small (this is becoming a habit, I know!), so when I took the skirt back to get it altered my tailor said to me “Are you a woman? Because you are very BIG like a woman.” (What she really wanted to know was if I was married).
We have been fighting a change in culture as soon as we moved to Lubumbashi compared to Rwanda, and specifically in clothing that we wear. I finally just resorted to only wearing long skirts, so there was no question if I was being “offensive” to the culture.
1 – One day I went into a store while Blake stayed behind, and a man came up to Blake and said, “Congratulations, your wife is dressed very well.”
2 – Monique gave me a long black skirt for my birthday this year that is REALLY long. When I wore it to some friends’ house in Gisenyi, Rwanda, the family was giggling a bit. When I finally asked what was wrong, they said, “You are wearing a super Christian skirt”!
3 – Recently in French class, one of our classmates came to us and said, “Lindsey, you dress very good. Many white women will come to Congo and dress very bad, but you, well you dress very good.” (She is referring to someone showing their legs with short skirts vs. someone wearing long skirts).
Until next time, to all my married friends, may you grow to be very big like a woman :)!