I'm not THAT scary!

Something happened to me when I was in the village (Homasi) that has never happened to me before.

A little kid was afraid of me.

This was definitely the first time that has ever happened to me. Normally, kids love me! Not one of Sister Juliana’s nephews, however. He was just under two years old. When his mother first carried him into the room, Sister Juliana scooped him up and hugged and kissed him, like any aunt would do to her nephew. The little boy, however, stared at me the entire time he was being fondled by his aunt. She noticed him staring at me, so she told him, in Twi, that he should go see the obruni (me). When she said this, he started balling! He screamed and cried, squirming out of Sister Juliana’s lap and running out the door as fast as his little legs could carry him. Throughout the afternoon, whenever he accidentally wandered back into the living room, he took one look at me and ran out crying.

I felt so terrible! I’ve never made a kid cry before.

“It’s because he’s never seen a white person before,” the boy’s aunties explained.

I felt much less terrible about making him cry when I discovered that he cried about everything. He’s the youngest in his family, with four older brothers and sisters, and wailing over ever little thing was his way of getting attention.

By the end of the weekend, however, he became used to me. He watched his big brothers and sister playing with me, and, not wanting to miss out on the action, he joined in the fun. He even pulled his brother out of my lap so that he could sit there and let me hold him. So cute.

So, a little kid was afraid of me, but not anymore. :)