Clothing from all over the world makes its way to Burundi. This may not be a perfect system (imagine trying to start a textile industry in a country whose markets are flooded by cheap, second-hand clothes), but it does make for some fun randomness. It seems pretty clear that American clothes top the list in Africa. I don't know if this is because A) Americans produce more clothes, B) Americans give more old clothes to Africa, or C) Americans are the mostly likely to fill their shirts with words and logos, and thus make them more noticeable.
Thus, it is not uncommon to be walking around an African city (or village) and to see a shirt from your home state in the US, though the wearer neither knows nor cares about the origin. The fact that the clothes are 100% context-less is part of the humor, like the grown man wearing a bright pink sorority hoodie, or the young woman in the hospital wearing a t-shirt reminding me to "Stay Calm. Kill Zombies." It is, each time, like a little private inside joke between me and the other person. Except that the other person isn't in on the joke.
One of my favorite moments is finding someone with a University of Michigan shirt (or pants, as I saw this morning). It comes up fairly frequently, and I'm convinced that UM apparel is among the most common in the world. Here is one example from 2015. One of John's post-op patients was sporting this shirt, and it matches my residency white coat. So I asked for a picture.
There was one unforgettable time in Kenya, when this 6 foot + Maasai warrior guy was in the lab waiting to donate blood for a family member. He was decked out in traditional garb, with a red blanket wrapped over his shoulder and some nice dilated ear lobes. The only thing that didn't fit (or maybe it fit the best!) was his UM beanie. I was so excited, but at that time, I didn't have a phone with a camera, and by the time I returned after lunch, I couldn't find him.
A few weeks ago, we were out on the frisbee field playing on a Sunday afternoon. The usual crowd was standing around watching. While running by one side of the field, I noticed that a spectator had a UM shirt. Nothing that special in that, but on my second pass, I noticed the words "National Champions." I started to think of the last national championship that UM had won in a sport that would print t-shirts. It seemed a while ago, which piqued my interest. How old was this shirt?
I got close enough to see that it was, in fact, a 2018 NCAA Division 1 basketball championship shirt. Except that UM didn't win that. They went to the finals and went down to Villanova.
Of course, when the buzzer goes off, and the winning team immediately sports their championship apparel, one has to wonder whether the other team's apparel goes. Off to Africa, I suppose.
Well, this got me excited, but once again I didn't have my phone. I went home, hoping that the reason he was out at the frisbee field was that he had some business at the hospital.
As it turns out, he did. The next day, I saw him waiting in line at the cashier. He was waiting with a family member who was hospitalized for an arm fracture. I wasn't going to lose another chance. I asked a friend of mine nearby by to ask him if I could take a picture with him. He seemed amused by it.
I figured I may as well press my luck. I asked him if he happened to like my shirt, and if he wanted to trade. My shirt was from the Gap, a hand-me-down from my brother-in-law, but it fit me a bit snug anyways. He said he liked my shirt very much, and that he'd gladly trade. He had been given that shirt for free.
Everyone was laughing at this point. But how were to make this trade? I told him that I'd come to his hospital bed before I left, and since I had an undershirt, that I'd trade with him.
That's what we did. And for the next week, I'd see him around the hospital wearing my shirt, and this time the inside joke was shared by two.
Hail to the victors. I can't wait to wear this in Ann Arbor. "Where'd you get that?!"
"Burundi, of course."
This is hilarious!!
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