Thank you for your story, Rebecca. It was not until I lived in Cameroon for a couple of years with the Peace Corps that I experienced myself as white through the other. I was always the white man. Or Chef. Or Patron. I was the source of money, or curiosity, or in some areas, hostility. Only a few I think saw me for who I was, or at least, beyond my color, and one of them was a blind man.

While I didn't enjoy it, it was a powerful lesson for me as it helped me loosen my self-definitions. In fact, I realized I had never known who I was, and that it is a life-long journey of self-discovery--with no answer to be found.