Before internet crashed again, I managed to see a photograph that Kate had uploaded on Facebook of her pale face and red nose, and some comment of her now returning to the winter (from Uruguay to New Zeeland, I presume), and no tan for her due to thesis work, or something like that. That got me thinking of my own body, and the way my work here has put its mark on it.
Of course, there are all the weird, itchy rash spots I get in places where I’ve sweated alot.
I’m outside in the sun all day, but wearing a long-sleeved shirt and a hat has greatly limited the amount of skin that gets exposed to the elements. My neck has had to take most of it – exept for the skin right on my spine. That is still quite pale, thanks to the braid that I make of my hair every morning.
And the other day in the shower, I noticed how my right wrist is a shade darker than my left. I couldn’t figure out why, until today. While walking, I noticed that I carry the GPS machine in my left hand, in front of me. That means that left wrist and hand are in the shade from my shoulder most of the time. The right hand doesn’t get that protection, hanging as it does by my hip.
Oh, how all these weird small details accumulate.
Katja Malmborg 