Straw Hat

So yesterday was market day and it was hot. I can honestly say that March and April are our hottest months. I was doing my marketing and I came across two men from the UK who were lost in my market. They were looking for the beads section and were lost in the section of plastics and rice bags.

I offered to show them where to go and on my way back to where I normally buy food, I ran into a lady who I had bought some baskets from. She yelled to me "hey white" to get my attention. I went over to give her my greetings since I had not seen her in a while. When I got there she handed me a straw hat. I asked her what it was for, she looked at me like I was an idiot and then told me to put it on. Now I know what hats are for but I did not understand why she was handing me this hat.

I put the hat on and she said that it was beautiful on me, in the local language. I asked her how much it was and she told me that it was free. I asked her if she was sure and she said yes, I was turning red and that white people should not go out uncovered.

I then wore my new hat through the market and got some interesting looks but at least I did not get too much sun.

When I got back to the office all of the girls wanted to know why I was wearing a hat because they had never seen me wear one. I told them the story and they said that the whole town likes to look out for it neighbors. I guess that means that I am now part of the community.