Pariah Hand

In many countries of the world, the left hand is pariah hand. It cannot do anything or touch anything. Since I am left handed, this is a bit inconvenient. I remember one time in Nouakchott I was stunned when a taxi driver angrily refused to take the money I handed him. Looking at the money in my hand, I confirmed it was the correct amount. Thinking he was trying to get more, I started to argue about the fare. He finally told me that it was extremely rude to hand someone money with my left hand. I was blown away. How many times had I offered my left hand to people and they were insulted but too polite to tell me? I felt terrible. Why had no one told me this before? 

I learned to eat with my right hand, my pariah hand safely out of sight under the table. I offer my right hand to shake, my pariah hand at my hips. I eat bread slowly, ripping off bits with my left hand (as quickly as possible) and eating piece by piece with my right hand. I am mindful to hold the wallet in my pariah hand, while taking out cash and handing it to the vendor in my right hand. When handing out school papers, I hold the stack in my left hand while delivering the papers with my right. The list goes on and on. I play the rules and my pariah hand stays out of touch. 

Since we live in right-handed world, I grew up learning to use right handed scissors, pour from the pan with my right hand, and so many other tasks. Yet no matter how much I try, I will never be able to write or hold a fork with my right hand. I figure that the fork provides enough of a buffer between my mouth and the food so it's not too terrible of a crime to use pariah hand, especially given the alternative (spilling all of the food on the floor). 

Avoiding using pariah hand has become such a habit I don't even notice anymore- until I go home to the U.S. I feel a bit paralyzed avoiding my left hand, like it is somehow injured or non-functioning. I watch others with awe as they effortlessly switch tasks between both hands. Although I love both of my hands equally, I still feel a voice in my head saying "pariah hand" whenever I go to use my left hand to pay, etc.