Mzungu!

Uganda, being in Eastern Africa, is populated mostly by people with very dark skin. Being as pasty white as myself and my fellow SEED volunteers makes one stand out. I've begun to feel that being white in Uganda is the same as being the star of a children's TV show in America. The reason for this comparison? Everywhere we go, children stop whatever they're doing as soon as they see us. At this point, some of them run or walk in our direction, others don't, but they all start talking to us, usually starting with a nice, hearty "Mzungu!" The English that most young Ugandan children know is limited to "Hi," "Hello," "How are you?" and "Fine", so our conversations are usually short, but it's nice to know that they really care how we're doing.

Alternately, Ryan jokingly points to these conversations as proof that African children aren't really as bad off as we expect. Everytime we ask them how they are, their only reply is "I'm fine."

Oh, Mzungu is Swahili for white person.