You talkin' to me?

I woke-up at 5-something yesterday morning to the sounds of the guards outside my window:

"...muzungu...!," said one, broiling with laughter, barely able to finish his sentence.

"...muzungu...!," replied the other in fits of hysteria.

I rolled-over and hoped they weren't talking about me.

"Muzungu" is essentially the Kiswahili version of "gringo." Some say that it means "white man," or "Westerner," although one person told me the literal translation is "those who contain their farts."

It is thus disconcerting for me to hear the word called out as I walk down the street, either to announce my presence or to get my attention. Is that all people see? A "muzungu?"

To add to the confusion, the greeting is frequently followed-up with some sort of plea; either silently with outstretched hands or with a verbal one, such as the man last Friday who yelled out "Muzungu - give me my money!," or the very young girl in her Sunday best who more succinctly stated: "Muzungu! Money money!" I only hoped those weren't her first words.

I can't help but think that if I called out a comparative label to a stranger back home, the only plea I would be making would be for a cold compress.

It is therefore difficult to make sense of what the connotation of the word is among the people who say it. If I were to guess by the voices of the guards on Sunday morning, I would imagine the reference is not a favorable one at all. But then last night, on my way to dinner, a little girl came running up to me in the street yelling "Muzungu!" and wrapped her arms around my leg. The other kids smiled and waved. I smiled and waved back, finally seeming to understand that just like any other word, so much of its meaning depends on its context.