Sunburn

Okay, a departure from retrospective posts. Here is something which makes us more extraordinary than ordinary here, even at CAJ. Our white skin. Sounds obvious, doesn't it? But we do things to protect our white skin that people with darker skin don't do. Also, coming from Australia where the ozone hole is closer, we are far more aware of skin cancer than white people from the northern hemisphere. So, you can pick an Australian from a mile off in summer – they are lathering up and always wearing hats and sunglasses.

Well today I forgot that others don't realise what we need to do, nor to they realise the consequences. I allowed my 6 y.o. to go down to the river with some classmates and their parents. I didn't go because the older two wanted to stay home and my husband is on the other side of Tokyo today. The group he was with were almost all Asian with one northern hemisphere Caucasian. All the kids were at least part-Asian. Their skin is much more tolerant to the sun.

I put sunscreen on his arms and face and sent him off with water and a hat. But did I tell him not to take his shirt off? No. Did I tell the lady I asked to look after him to not let him take his shirt off? No. Now he is sunburnt. Ouch.

Warm weather puts me on the edge of ordinary

Well, actually it accentuates my 'different-ness' here in Japan.

Summer means, as any good Aussie knows, that you wear shorts and sunnies. Not here in Japan, although more and more shorts have appeared here in the eight years since we arrived.

Actually, though, we usually see more shorts in winter than summer. They wear them with tights and boots. Has that fashion statement reached overseas yet?

In summer, most people cover up, especially the ladies. Not because they're avoiding skin cancer, but because they WANT white skin. Ladies wearing gloves and carrying umbrellas is a very common sight. No wonder when I bear my almost luminescent skin, I get stares. 

Yesterday I got suited up to ride to the gym - put on my helmet and sunnies - both unusual here and worthy of a few good looks. Then I got to the gym and put on shorts. Being almost the youngest person on the circuit, the only foreigner in the room and in shorts, definitely put me on the edge of what is ordinary here in Japan. Good thing they didn't see me in my sunnies and helmet too :)

 Funny thing is that it is our hats that put us on the edge of ordinary at the Christian Academy in Japan (CAJ). There we are known as "The Australian Marshalls who all wear hats." It seems that Americans don't? The school is full of people with Asian or part Asian skin, so I guess we do stand out. However there are enough white-skinned folk around who just don't wear hats that our boys notice and ask why they have to!

 So you see, no matter where we go, we don't fit. I wonder whether we'll fit into Australia?