Walking down a main street in Vancouver you will come across some pretty elaborate clothing styles. Without even speaking with the people you can make an educated guess of what they are like based on the clothes they wear. People don’t wear the clothes they do purely out of necessity back at home; they wear them out of style.
The Congolese have their own clothing that is, with the lack of a better word, ‘traditional’. Bright, complex designs cover the garment weather it is a skirt, headscarf, or men’s blazer. However there are those people that are unable to purchase such ‘stylish’ clothes. These are the people that rely on donated clothing.
It is not uncommon to see kids and adults alike, walking to school and work sporting a Canucks t-shirt or Calgary Flames jersey. Not to say that die-hard NHL fans are non-existent in Goma, DR Congo, it's just that the people here do not wear the hockey jersey for the same reason someone in Vancouver would.
We, westerners, wear clothes in an attempt to make some sort of social statement or to fit in with certain crowd. That one t-shirt that we just had to have, the one that we really wanted is quickly converted into a garment that someone needs.
For instance, this is the last place I thought I would see this pair of footwear.
I thought I had chosen a lake water shower over thrashing powder this year, but, who knows, I may have just found my new ski partner for this season (sorry dad).
and here I thought it was funny seeing ski racks on cars! too funny.
ReplyDeleteI totally had those ski boots... they are still sitting in my garage though.
ReplyDeletePoor guy, we all know how brutle the walk to the chairlift is in those things - let alone the walk to school.
Sending you lots of love rafiki