I was out walking yesterday and somehow managed to get sunburned. Apparantly UV rays can penetrate lead infused air. Since I was wearing a t-shirt I managed to get some very unattractive tan lines. So today I decided to do something about it. I put on a skirt and a little sleeveless top and went and lay on the grass. I wanted to just go out in my bikini, but I thought I'd lighten the shock load.
I found the most isolated spot on campus, so only about 50 people passed as I was lying there. A little kid stood over me for about two minutes eating his icecream and dripping on me until I told him to move. Then he stood with his mother about 3 feet back and they both stared at me, sucking on their popsicle sticks. A guard came by, passed, and then returned.
"Why are you lying there?"
"I live here. My apartment is right there."
"The sun is going to come down and hit you."
"Yes."
"All the sunlight is going to come down on you."
I turned my head and pretended to fall asleep and he left eventually.
I know where he was coming from, since at the slightest hint of sun every Chinese person is walking around with an umbrella. Very Victorian. They even ride around on their bicycles with the umbrellas up. But this is a country where whiteness equals beauty. All the skin creams and face washes are for whitening. Just like our toothpaste.
The tanning wasn't so bad. Now I think I have a more even burn. I was okay with being pale too. I didn't need a tan. I was going to let my skin rejuvenate from it's sojourn in the Southern Hemisphere last year. And if my neck and forearms hadn't burned yesterday making me look like in idiot in anything but a t-shirt, it could have.
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