Some cultural differences between America and Lesotho will
be, I’m sure, points of tension throughout my service (how adults interact with
children, the prevalence of corporal punishment, etc.), but others are just
kind of odd and funny. For example, in Lesotho, it is completely acceptable to
pick your nose. Everyone, from my teachers to my students to people I talk to
walking to town, picks his or her nose. It is completely normal, and this of
course throws me off completely coming from America where you’re looked on like
some kind of deviant if you pick your nose. People will be talking with me and,
while keeping eye contact, go knuckle-deep exploring for treasure. It is an
especially funny difference considering that I am a reckless spendthrift when
it comes to Kleenexes, and my mother and father made sure that I had a stack of
new handkerchiefs in my luggage before I left. Standing across from someone
who, I have no doubt, would put a finger in each nostril if the situation
required it, I feel like a real dandy taking out my little square of white
linen and gently blowing my nose into it. Incidentally, this feeling isn’t
helped by my habit of periodically dabbing sweat from my brow with the
handkerchiefs and exclaiming “mercy!”
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