Shaving Legs

I always thought that living in a culture where it wasn’t required for females to shave their legs would be the best thing ever! However, after living in Nigeria for a while where that was the case, I determined that I do appreciate having shaved legs even without the cultural norm to require it. Thirteen of us stayed in a three bedroom guesthouse in Bambur with one bathroom and no running water. Needless to say, bathroom time was at a premium. Therefore, I decided to take a bowl of water and my razor outside to shave. I didn’t know whether to feel uncomfortable or just laugh (so of course, laughing is always the better option!) when a 60-something-year-old Nigerian man was staring at me.
“What are you doing?” he queried.
“Shaving my legs.” I replied tentatively smiling.
“Why?” he countered completely perplexed.
“American culture…” I quizzically responded and then proceeded to mull over the fact that our culture is so deeply entwined within the depths of our beings and is expressed in some of the most unlikely places but informs so many of our actions, decisions and motivations.