In Uganda, it is customary for men lounging by the side of the street to yell things at white women passing by. The most vociferous are the 'boda boda men', the men gathered in packs on motorcycles or bicycles who are part of this country's complex transport system. One of the Ugandan team members for UVP commented last year that her least favorite thing about working with UVP was "knowing what the boda boda men are saying, because it's very rude." I explained this to my father last night, as we were walking down a busy street, and added that I continue to be blissfully unaware of what the boda boda men are saying most of the time. I did just take the time to look up one of the things that I had heard shouted my way a number of times just today, "mutesi! mutesi!" This apparently means 'one who is not trustworthy' in Lusoga, according to an obscure internet source I found. I prefer this greeting to kissy-face noises, or "you! you are my wife! hey, my wife!" These catcallers never seem to take no for an answer, nor do they ever seem to get discouraged by the lack of response. They continue to wail their mantra just as loudly until your white skin has receded from sight completely.
Sometimes the boda boda men try to use other means to get your attention. Since 'mzungu we go!' is old hat at this point, they try to elicit attention with other greetings. In the USA, I would expect 'hey, blondie', or 'hey, sweetheart', or something along those lines, but apparently I fall under different categories in the boda boda men's minds. "Hey, USA!" they shout, or "Hey, America!" as if I had an American flag tattooed across my face. Sometimes I also get "Hey, English!" and today, for the first time, "Hey, Obama! Yes, Obama!" Finally, the boda boda men got something other than a scowl from me.
In other news, I am in Jinja today at a fancy cafe catering to mzungus, drinking a mango lassi. Jinja seems bigger than I remember it 5 years ago. I feel old. I can't believe I was here 5 years ago. The only other change I have noticed thus far is that the souvenirs have become more sophisticated. Instead of simply being able to purchase a t-shirt that reads "MZUNGU", you can now also purchase a "MY NAME IS NOT MZUNGU" t-shirt.
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