As I was walking to catch a taxi, I was approached by a local. Immediately, they started talking fast in another local language called Setswana. I interrupted them and said, "Sorry, I don’t speak Setswana." The local was confused and shocked. He asked me where I am from. I told him I am from the United States. From then on, I was known as a Black American. This was the first time I experienced looking like the majority of a population in Botswana. If your skin resembles any dark traits, you’re considered black to locals, they will not notice you’re American because most of them believe only Caucasians live in the United States.
The United States is a mosaic of different cultures and people. It is made up of people who are of different colors and have different ethnicities. In the country Botswana, they have a different perspective on race. Here, they only see you as white or black. In the United States, people notice Latinos, African Americans, Caucasians, Indians, Chinese and more races. In Botswana, they only see people as white or black. Based on the shade of your skin, your race can change when you are here. For a Latina, she would not be looked as a Latino, but as a white woman now.
