Quick Tip #5: What to do when you look different than everyone else

I am the world’s best tribute to the recessive gene. Okay, so there’s been no official competition, but I’m fairly confident in my chances at the title should the opportunity present itself.  I have bright curly redhair, blue eyes, pale skin and a zillion freckles. This particular genetic combination is, biologically speaking, rarer than your chances of being struck by lighting or eaten by a shark. It’s rare enough in the West (with redheads making up about 4% of the population in Europe, Australia and the US), but virtually non-existent in the rest of the world.

Thus, “blending in” has never really been a successful travel strategy for me (except for my 2.5 month stint in Northern Ireland). Kids in the US think my freckles are strange enough to point and ask questions, in many places my skin and hair will be rubbed, prodded and the subject of general laughter, ridicule and other kinds of conversation. It’s typically good-natured, but it’s still hard to not let it get to you.

A red flag waving in the wind

Here are some strategies I’ve come up with to try to deal with the extra (often unwanted) attention:

1. Keep your cool. I’m not particularly fond of my freckles, but I’ve come to accept them as part of the redhead package (which I love). I know the first time seeing someone with very pale skin covered in a mass of brown dots must be strange. People usually want to understand your differences and see how you are similar, not tease or belittle you. So, let them poke a little and ask questions. Keep your smile on and try to joke about it, rather than get frustrated and angry with them.  Besides, I don’t want to give any other culture fodder for the redheads are bad tempered stereotype.

2. Know your audience. In Latin America the attention is usually benign and I’m seen as exotic rather than diseased. In India, women and men dye their hair red for luck and to show youthfulness. In Rwanda, red hair is associated with albinos and vitamin A deficiency–signs of sickness and bad luck. Knowing those little things about how my stranger-than-usual gringo/mzungu/barang appearance affects local people when they see me, helps me to manage the situation a little better.

3. Try to blend in where possible. Though physically I may stick out like a sore thumb, I typically try to adapt my dress to fit in a little better. Covering up whatever seems necessary (including sometimes my hair, i.e.:  in a temple or conservative muslim area) and trying not to make my foreign-ness any more obvious.

4. Remember you are, in fact, a foreigner. The well-traveled will often tell you that the most successful moments of their travels have been the times where they felt treated like locals. Received local prices, knew how to order their favorite local dish in the local language, or made a joke that traveled across the great cultural divide. You get the idea. But, it’s important not to take yourself too seriously. You are a foreigner (no matter how genuine your interest in the location) and you will probably always be one.

Enjoy these little moments. They’re stuff that makes travel exciting and keeps you on your toes…however tired your toes might already be.