“Of COURSE I recognize you!…who are you, again?”

I’ve never been good at remembering names. Or faces, for that matter. This becomes a problem when those people remember me. In Cameroon, I was mostly able to recognize women by their great variety of hair styles, weaves, braids, etc. Here at Shyira, however, many of the women have the same hair cut - a short boy-ish crop (Aloys explained that it is a matter of principle, especially among the Christian women. They dress simply, wear minimal jewelry, and cut their hair short to communicate that they are happy with themselves the way they are. It’s also a response to the common perception (usually true) of western materialism and focus on external appearance.) Although I do admire their philosophical approach to appearances, it does make it difficult to identify someone whose name you don’t know. After the first few weeks, I noticed myself recognizing women by their clothes - “the one with the orange skirt,” etc. Works well most of them time. Except when the women have purchased the same bolt of fabric from the market…