Many Africans have seen Americans and Europeans of European-descent. And many know Black Americans, especially academics and business persons who have traveled widely. But ‘regular’ people often say to me “So you’re a Black American?” or “It seems as if you’re a stranger here.” There are lots of Cameroonians who have moved to the states and come back with "strange" accents, so people sometimes think I’m a returned Cameroonian. And I don’t really look different than many Cameroonians so, just as in the States now, you can’t make assumptions based on physical appearance. It's safer for them to ask me who I am. My speech often gives me away though. I don’t sound like an Anglophone Cameroonian and my French definitely doesn’t sound French, and I can understand pidgin but I haven’t yet tried to speak it.
Even more interesting (I need to find a new word) for me is seeing Europeans here in Buea. The first few times I came here there were very few Europeans. But this time, I’ve seen quite a few. It’s funny that I even notice them because at home, I wouldn’t. But here, they stand out. I grew up as a military dependent and my family was often the only African American family in the neighborhood, so my earlier socialization was largely based on people who did not look like me. Europeans were the norm. But here in Buea, as in most of sub-Saharan Africa, Black Africans are the norm. When I see a white person, I catch myself looking for clues. Is she American? Is he German or French? And what is even more interesting to me is that I feel so American, but they have no way of knowing that unless they are paying particular attention to me. This is a new experience for me.
Yesterday a taxi driver said to me, “So you’ve come home.” I guess in a way I have.