As an African American, you can easily be mistaken as a local, and most of the times people will try to speak the local language to you. For a Chinese woman, you are no longer Chinese, but a white woman as well. For those who are not of darker complexions are considered visible. To be white in Botswana means you are an outsider. Because you do not resemble the same features as the locals, they consider you white and automatically assume you’re not from the country either.
Because of the different perspective of race in Botswana, compared to in the United States, an outsider may feel as if their history is being wiped from them. Latinos become Caucasians and are addressed as white in this country. However, it is always encouraged to teach people about who you are. I inform locals about my history being a black American and how I am not so different from locals around me in Botswana.
