Sunday, September 4, 2011

I Think I'm Turning Japanese

Dear Imaginary Friend,
Tan Carlo and Pale Patsie


I am possibly the palest person you have ever not met. And in America, it is a negative. Here the tan, whether real or fake, is admired. Pasty white people are considered unhealthy looking.
Well, I finally found out where I need to move to: Japan.

On our cruise in Germany, one of the passengers was a Japanese obstetrician. She was a young woman around 30 who appeared to be allergic to the sun or perhaps mentally ill. She covered up her entire body even while inside, with black sweater sleeves that extended down to her mid-fingers. Outside, enduring the 93 degree heat, in addition to her entire body being covered up, she wore a ginormous hat that hung down to her chin, with a see-through green plastic inset, through which she could gaze. 

I thought, what in the world is her situation?
It turns out that in Japan, the whiter the skin, the higher the class. She was deathly afraid of getting freckles or tanning.

Whee ha! Sayonara!

Your Imaginary Friend,
Patsie

No comments:

Post a Comment