Sun burned in Africa

So the other day, I went to the beach. Which is not something I do often here in the Gambia despite the lovely beaches only a few miles away. And it isn’t that I didn’t put sunscreen on…because I did…sort of. But when you are as lacking in melanin as I am, a little sunscreen, haphazardly applied, isn’t going to cut it. Now I am aware of the dangers of sun damage. People of Irish descent are educated very young about the need to apply sunscreen or suffer the consequences. And I have been good! Really, I have. I haven’t had a really bad burn since I was a little kid. Well, I just went and broke my record. And spent a lot of time educating Gambians about sunburns and blister burns and yes, that hurts don’t touch me. While I knew my back hurt like crazy, I only have a small mirror and not a good source of light, so I really couldn’t tell just how bad it was. But when a student asked me what all the strange white dots were on my back and I realized I wasn’t just badly sunburned, but I had a very lovely blister burn. Well, that explains the intense pain associated with laying on my back, wearing clothes, letting my hair touch my back, showering…you know everything. And it also explains the reason so many Gambians were apologizing to me when they get a look at my back. Which is strange. It isn’t really their fault. I just wasn’t made to be exposed to the sun in the Gambia. But if any good could come from this burn (and I can laugh about it now because it is almost done peeling…for the third time), then it would be that at least 150 Gambians (I have a lot of students) now know that sunburns exist, that they hurt (like the devil), and that they are lucky they were born with melanin.

Which leads me to the topic of skin lightening. No, not for me! There isn’t much room for me to get lighter, although I am sporting a pretty nice tan thanks to 3 months in Africa. But African woman and their desire to have lighter skin. And some men too although that is less common. And really, it is not just Africa since I saw many, many commercials and products for skin lightening in India too. Women all over the world seem to wish for different colored skin. If you are born pale, you want a tan. If you are born dark, you want to be lighter. So some people bake in the sun, increasing their risk for skin cancer, while others apply caustic chemicals to their skin to become lighter which can lead to a number of nasty skin disorders. I like to think that I am pretty happy with my skin color. I don’t bother to go tanning and I don’t go in for the spray tans. But then I get a horrible sun burn/blister burn and I do find myself wishing I could have been born with darker skin and the luxury of not needing to wear sunscreen every time I want to spend more than 30 minutes in the sun. Oh well, that is life.