Sunday, September 10, 2006

Sources of Endless Fascination to L., the Youngest of the Maids

1. How white my skin is.

(Indonesians pay good money for whitening creams and powders and don't seem to understand that I don't like my white skin. Sunburns are clearly so a foreign concept.)

2. How my arms that are braceleted and white and bare are in the lamplight downed with light brown hair.

(Okay, maybe not in so many words, but the intent was there.)

3. How my legs are also covered with the same blondish hair.

(Slightly awkward follow-up question: "Is your hair that same color everywhere?" Um, excuse me? Did you just ask what I think you asked?)

4. How my face turns red at certain questions.

(With questions like "does the carpet match the drapes," I should think it's no surprise that I'm blushing!)

5. How big my feet are.

(As if, in a country where the largest shoes are two sizes too small, I needed reminding!)

6. How new "red freckles" keep appearing on my face--yesterday there was one on the right cheek, and today there's one on the left! Are those mosquito bites, or what?

(Yeah, kid, I'm 22 years old and still fighting pimples. Thanks for bringing that up.)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

But Petra do they tell "Oh miss you are too big!" or maybe the Indonesians aren't as blunt as the filipinos. Your aunt.

Tolkien Boy said...

I obviously need to sojourn in foriegn countries, as I spend most of my life feeling that people are saying these things about me in their minds. It would be better to have it out in the open.

JB said...

How interesting. I love these posts.

Steven said...

So they haven't gotten around to complimenting you on your enormous nose yet, huh? ;)