On being a 'celebrity'

As I have mentioned previously, being a mzungu (white person) means being treated like a celebrity and being the centre of attention. When we socialise with Ugandans, especially if we visit their homes, I get the distinct impression that their status in the community increases.

Many people want to be our friend, or at least get our attention. Kids always wave at us and the adults will as well if we wave first. I especially love it when the young kids jump up and down and scream in excitement at seeing us. Their wee faces radiate joy at seeing us especially when we wave back or speak to them.

Danny and I attended a wedding reception today at which there were several hundred people. We were the only mzungus there and we were treated, not surprisingly, as celebrities. Most people wanted to greet us and shake our hands. They were so pleased that we attended a Ugandan wedding reception. The speakers who entertained the guests mentioned us at least a dozen times….we were referred to as guests of honour, a miracle, a blessing, as well as some friendly jokes about us. The entire reception was conducted in Runyankole so we only knew they were talking about us when we’d hear the word mzungu/bazungu and a sea of faces would turn around and look at us.

The village where the reception took place is rather remote and nowhere near a tourist destination so we were recipients of a great deal of attention due to the rarity of a white person in the area.

When I began to take a few photos of some of the kids I was suddenly swarmed by a couple of dozen of them all wanting their pics taken. They screamed in delight when I showed them their photos on the camera screen. Most, if not all, of these kids had likely never seen a white person before. I am sure that every child in the place waved, smiled or stared at us for quite some time.

Photo: thumbs up must be universal as it is also common in Uganda