For some reason, lots of people around here feel a strong compulsion to exclaim “Mundele!” when they see a white person walking down the street. In East Africa, the Swahili equivalent is Muzungu; both words mean, simply, ‘white one’.
The thing is, no matter how many times I hear this, I’m always stumped for a suitable response. “Moyindo!” (black!) I could retort, but somehow this doesn’t appeal. If I’m feeling friendly I introduce myself, if I’m not I generally ignore it. (If you have any witty suggestions, preferably in Lingala, please let me know.)
As an experiment, then, I’m opting for the pre-emptive strike. I went to a print shop with an old t-shirt and a few pictures of archetypal mundele John Cleese doing his silly...