They All Look the Same

Today I was working at the barn. In my job, I don't have a lot of opportunity to interact with the other staff...except for Lola of course...because Lola and I are mostly in the office while the rest of them are out in the barn. But parts of my job do require me to head out into the barn, and there I see my co-workers.

I should mention that the pigs in our barn are extremely healthy, and it's because we are required to shower at the barn...before we are allowed to enter...and to shower when we leave. And healthy pigs are what our customers want. There are 4 showers (one for the ladies), so up to 4 people can shower at a time. On the inside of the barn, we are given generic t-shirts and shorts to wear; there are a couple of washers and dryers there as well, so barn clothes stay inside our securely healthy facility. Just bear with me, you needed to know this.

At the barn we have a cultural mix of people working. Three are from the Caribbean, 1 is from Mexico, 1 is from Denmark, and I'm pretty sure the rest of us are from the local area.

So.

As I was leaving this afternoon, there were 3 of us in the shower (3 separate showers, people! Get your mind out of the gutter!), and I could tell the other two were some of our Caribbean Crew (they call themselves the Caribbean Connection) because of their singing. They have the rhythm and it's really fun to watch them just break out in song wherever and whenever they feel like.

As I'm leaving the change room, I saw the other two guys in the entryway, getting ready to leave as well. The one guy looked at me and said, "Were you just in there?" I was a little confused because I've had at least 3 separate conversations with this particular fellow just this afternoon. And so I asked, "In the shower?" And he, looking confused said, "No, were you just in the barn?" And I said, "Yes."

The other guy who was with him said something, but all I caught was "Lola." Maybe they thought I was Lola??? The other guy has a very thick accent and I have a hard time understanding what he says, so I usually just laugh and nod. Mr. Happy says that he smiles and says yep, and then bangs fists with him...not really knowing what they just talked about...

So back to the first guy. He said to me,"That was you in the barn? You're much more beautiful in there."

O-kaay. Um. So have I just been complemented or insulted? I can't imagine I'm very attractive in the barn...wearing the same t-shirt and shorts that everybody else wears...with my hair flat and straight and my bangs hanging in my eyes, because unlike some former employees, I don't feel the need to blowdry and curl my hair and apply make-up before I start my shift. Anyway, it was just an odd conversation.

I guess white people do all look the same.