An interlude...

I was at the school again yesterday to observe a health class. I was sitting in an empty classroom taking advantage of the quiet to write some comments down in my notebook. A little boy slipped into the room and came and sat in the desk in front of me. I greeted him. He greeted me. I asked him his name. He told me. Then I asked him if he knew my name.

He thought.

He pondered.

He looked up at me, paused, and then said in the tiniest little voice:

"Mzungu?"

I laughed and laughed and laughed.

Mzungu is the general term for all white people here, which is really what made this exchange so funny.

Your name?

Why yes, I believe I have heard it...

It's on the tip of my tongue, really.

This is terribly embarrassing. You look so familiar...

Oh, wait. Yes! Now I've got it!

"Mzungu!"