A PALE PARADE

I have some time left before my hour runs out at the internet cafe so I thought I would share some less important experiences.

It seems white people are quite the novelty. In the stores the big products are soaps and lotions with extra whitening ability. This struck me as odd since at home I seem to be on the recieving end of many jokes about the pasty whiteness of my skin. The ideal at home seems to be the tanned look and here it is just the opposite. At the airport coming in a couple of Filapino kids looked at me and laughed, when I turned around they ran away. It turned into almost a game as I would try and turn around and catch them before they had a chance to stop and laugh. Whenever I walk anywhere off the base people stare, men, women and children. Walking to town this morning men were honking their horns, waving, yelling and even slowing down and driving alongside of us. I don't at all feel threatened, but I feel like I am on display in a parade for the pasty white people.
The other day we rode back to the base on this motorized trike with a basket on the side. Two girls got into the basket and I jumped on the back of the bike. As we got on and started to drive away, a bunch of men were clapping and cheering for the driver. We are pretty sure they were cheering for him because he picked up three white chicks.