Celebrity for nothing...

So my biggest pet peeve here is that I am a celebrity for no reason at all. Well, not for no reason, it’s because I’m white. And I hate it!!!!!!!!!!!


When I walk down the street, at least 1 in 8 people screams out the word ‘mzungu’ (white person). I just want to scream back ‘black person’. I remember this from Kenya, but for some reason, it is even more annoying here. The kids are kind-of funny and cute when they do it, but if you acknowledge one of them, then it encourages the other ones to say it as well, hoping that you will wave to them, say hi or smile at them. Doesn’t sound like that big of a deal, right?

Now imagine walking for about 15 minutes to the road to catch a taxi to town. It is a beautiful day, you are enjoying the beautiful green trees plump with mangoes and papayas, trying not to slip in the mud from the rains that morning. Up ahead, there is a group of kids. They start screaming ‘mzungu’ the moment they see you. They keep screaming it as you pass, and you smile and wave, hoping that they will quiet down, and not alert the entire neighborhood to your presence. The couple kids that think that they are the beneficiaries of your wave smile and go silent. The others are sped on in the hopes that you will acknowledge them. And when you don’t the screams go shrill.

And then there are the adults. They are a little more reserved, but when they do say ‘mzungu’ it is in a high girlish voice that sends them into giggles. Everyone is your friend, and everyone expects you to stop and talk with them. If you do stop and talk with them, then they ask you to buy something for them, or give them something. You must have medicine in your bag, can you buy this juice for me, can you find me a sponsor.

I hate to say that I have gotten really good at ignoring people. For the most part, I just pretend that I don’t understand the word mzungu. If they want to get to know me, then they would ask my name. It would be so nice to hear someone call my name. I know I’m asking for a lot. I know that I can’t blame them for being excited that a white person is staying in their area. I know that they don’t see white people often, and that the kids are only following the example of their parents (many of them are egged on by their parents, as their parents are too afraid to do it themselves). Doesn’t mean I have to like it.

Last little bit about this. I was sitting in our office, which is a fairly main thoroughfare into the neighborhood. I was busy working on a grant application on the computer, and all of a sudden I would look up (after ignoring the pleas for the mzungu for 5 minutes) and the office would be surrounded by 10-15 kids. STARING. And in the background would be the older ones, STARING. They would stay there for 10 or 15 minutes. When someone would walk past, many of them tripped, because their eyes were on me the whole time, and not on the muddy crazy road. Really, how long can a person put up with that?

Sorry for the long – had to get that off my chest!