Mzungu!

So here’s another tidbit from my Sunday walk…As I’m walking along the road, I walked past a group of teenage guys. I got about three steps past them and hear: “Mzungu!” I think, “Oh crap. They do that here too?”

Mzungu (pronounced mmm zoon goo) literally means “White person!” We got cat called like this all…the…time when we were in Kenya, but I haven’t been called it since. At first it’s kinda funny, but then it starts to get on your nerves. I mean, can you imagine walking down the street in the states, pointing at someone and saying “Black guy!” Yeah, you’d probably get your butt kicked. Of course, matters of race are far more sensitive in the US because of our history and that’s not what they mean here. It’s not at all intended to be offensive. You’re more a source of curiosity, potential money or both. Still it gets a little annoying that people keep pointing out the obvious.

If Wazungu (plural) aren't an every day occurrence, you'll get called out more. The kids especially do this and often try to get you to wave or something else silly. On my walk a different group of boys about 10 or so tried to get me to buy a rock from them. I laughed and told them no. These are things you just have to roll with. I'd much rather have semi-annoying mzungu experiences than stick to the beaten path of where all the tourists are. I'm a scrappy aid worker. Don't mess.

**Note: I'm sticking with the Kiswahili spelling because that's my first experience. The wikipedia link above gives more information about the origins of the word in various African tribal languages.