Scared to … Life?

One afternoon last week I went to buy a few last minute items for dinner. As I left the boutique, I noticed a little girl about two years old running full speed toward a very busy main road. Quickly searching for her parents, I saw her mom chasing after her with a pot on her head, not able to catch up. I ran as fast as I could over to the little girl; preparing to swoop her up before she got hit by a car. At the sight of me running toward her, she froze, screamed, and ran back to her mom. All the vendors, her mom, passers by, and I burst out laughing. The mother said the little girl had not seen a white person before and the sight of me scared her to death (err… perhaps to life?)

This is the second child that has been scared of my pale skin. Another morning I greeted a neighbor’s daughter. The next afternoon her mom told me to not greet her because it took 24 hours to calm her down! Amazing!