An Afternoon Soundbite

In the middle of giving a tutorial on how to use the new template I created for my NGO's quarterly newsletter, my supervisor says in a deep, rich accent:

"Johldan, can I ask you -- is there something about Jewish eyes? A Ugandan woman in town whose grandparents were Jews told me that you can tell who is a Jew by looking in their eyes. So, every time I look at you I keep thinking I will find something special or strange in your eyes, but I haven't found anything yet. Every single day I am looking ... So, is it true? Can you tell who is a Jew from their eyes?"

Two minutes later ...

"What about Jewish hair? It's always curly, yes? When I see Jews in the movies, they have curly hair. When your hair was long, was it curly?"

30 seconds later ...

"Do you call yourself Jewish or just Jew? And what about Israelite? Are you that, too?"

This promptly put an end to newsletter template orientation and opened up a more lively conversation about the myths, mysteries, and intrigue of my Tribe. Yes!