After 5 (collective) years of living in Japan, I have become accustomed to the staring. There's really no way to say this without sounding extremely conceited so I'm going to say it anyway, I'm pretty used to turning heads. People usually look at me in a way that is flattering but here in Japan its more of a "What IS she?" type of look which is not flattering in the least bit. It's not just one group of Japanese people that do the staring either. I get gawked at by kids, adults, men, women, old, young....and I know its not just me. Anyone who is non-Japanese and has spent more than a day in this country has had a similar experience I'm sure.
I have my moments when I get sick and tired of being examined as though there were pie on my face but overall, I feel like I deal with it fairly well. I'm not Japanese but I think I blend fairly easily. My skin is light compared to other Black folks and until recently I wore my hair straight. Changing my hair style has completely changed my incog-negro status.
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| My Chop 7/7/2010 |
So to get back to the staring....
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| The Fro-Hawk 9/26/2010 |
Now that I have this short fluffy curly hair the puzzlement in people's eyes has increased dramatically! When I walked in to the International Student Center office to sign for my scholarship the lady working there who I've known for two years now was like, "Your hair...something happened." (Keep in mind this woman lived in the US for years so her language ability is pretty good. She said what she meant to say.) People who know me and some who don't have come up to wanting to stare at it, wanting to touch it, wanting to smell it. It's WEIRD! I can honestly say, I've never wanted to smell a stranger's hair before so this is all very new to me.
Anyway...my natural hair journey is well underway and I sincerely hope that as it grows on people the staring grows on me, again.
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| Long enough for a banana clip! 10/14/2010 |
3 comments:
Loves it.
Much like I do at least twice a year, I decided to grow my hair out (again) to see how long it could get, what I could do with my natural hair texture blah blah blah. I'm lucky I only have to do it within the confines of the US (granted, Corporate America, but America nonetheless). You're brave for going natural and for bearing that brunt overseas where people are still curious about our differences. Seems like you've been able to give your confidence a bit of a break due to your previous incognegro experience. Now you've got to wrap yourself in that confidence and keep yourself together and your head held high. (Should be easier with less hair now).
You look phenomenal. And not just on the outside. Always have, always will.
I always let the staring bother me when I was an ALT back in Matsusaka. That was until a laid back co-worker from London, Ontario asked me a question that would change my outlook on staring all together.
He said, "Why are YOU looking? Obviously, you are looking at them, waiting for them to stare at you."
Also, following that, when I was dating my wife, she wanted to keep it a secret from friends, family, the town, etc. As such, she did not want to hold hands on the street.
I told her that, if we are going to be dating in this small town (and country for that matter) then people are going to stare. I am different, we are a different couple, and that is a fact of life here. It will be up to you to get over thinking about that fact and we can move on.
By the way, you look great any way you do your hair.
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