Who is that?

Funny how I've been back for nearly three years and I still start so many mental sentences with "In Bundibugyo..." Hmmm. So I noticed the other day how Exeter is like Bundibugyo. Given the dramatic difference in infrastructure, medical care, educational institutions, basic income level, electricity, weather, blah, blah, blah... one might ask what the heck I could find here that reminds me of there. Clothes. What?! Seriously. In Bundibugyo (there I go) a person finds that you recognize another person by what they wear. Now this is true because generally speaking, a person in Bundibugyo has a somewhat limited wardrobe. So when walking down the road on the way to the market I would see a red dress with a blue and yellow wrap and know that was so and so. Or I might spy a brown shirt with a green, red and orange wrap and know that was someone else. (Don't get me wrong, face, gender, body type etc. certainly play their part BUT the familiarity of clothing helps tremendously) When you wear the same thing day after day or at least multiple times a week, your clothes help identify you. Woe to you (or the people trying to recognize you) if your wardrobe contains too many pieces. It could get confusing.

Re-entry back into American culture is, shall we say, somewhat different. Variety is essential in filling out one's wardrobe. Even if you have a limited budget for clothes and your closet is not packed, I have found that it is essential to use pieces in various combinations to create the illusion of having more clothes than you do. Very rarely do people wear the same outfit twice in one week, much less back to back. You might say that a certain person always tends to look classy, or well put together, or athletic, or .... But you are much more likely to recognize people by hair, facial features, body type, accompanying children or dogs.

Where am I going with all of this? When the weather outside is freezing, most people have a much more limited outerwear wardrobe. Most of the time our heights are blurred by the heel size of our boots. Our hair and indeed the majority of our faces are covered by hats and scarves and our general body type is masked by all manner of thinsulate, down, or wool. When outside, walking down the street, how is a person to recognize her friends? Viola! The long black puffer coat is XXXX. The Northface brown parka and stylish cream hat is XXXX. The hot pink down jacket.... that would be me. Thus Exeter meets Bundibugyo.