A new year means new beginnings, or at least that's how it usually starts out. I promised to start writing on my blog again, and about 4 weeks after that promise I only wrote 2 posts.
Now I could make up excuses like "oh I didn't have Internet over Christmas Break" or "I don't have the time with 18 credits". However, excuses only mean you're not taking responsibility for your actions. And now that I will be blogging for my internship (by the way, getting paid to be on Social Media is the best thing ever!), I should get back into the swing of things.
It has been nearly a year since I found out I was going to study abroad in Malawi, Africa last May. It's hard to believe how much has change since then. My new found love for Africa has inspired me to find ways to incorporate it into my everyday life. It didn't work out in my favor when I had to make a speech last semester about my time in Malawi and decided to wear African clothing, only to have many people stare at me like I was a lunatic. Which is why I'm relying on my social media outlets, and other subtle ways, to help portray my love and interest in the land so many people assume is full of only poverty.
The first step was to change the URL for my blog. While I will always love the original name "Shutter-Style", it was time for a change. My blog's new name is "My Name Not Muzungu".
What is a Muzungu? Muzungu is a term for foreign person, used mostly in the southern, central, and eastern regions of Africa (like Malawi!). It can mean "aimless wanderer" or "someone who roams around aimlessly". However, most natives of Africa associate the term with the meaning "white person" or "European". When I was in Africa, this was basically my name. It's important to note that this term is not offensive. Now if you called someone out based on their ethnicity or race in the United States, you would more than likely get slapped....
There are not very many white people in Malawi (no surprise), and many of the natives have never seen a white person other than through a picture or on TV, especially someone as white as I am. It was difficult to convince them that I had a name, a personality, and a life outside of Africa. It was also hard to adjust being in Africa and having everyone stare at you, staring because of your skin color, your accent, and your lifestyle.
The more I thought about being the "muzungu", the more I realized I was facing this problem before I went to Africa. I don't mean being singled out by my race, but the concept of trying to portray myself as not just a typical college student, as "Kalchik's little sister", or that girl in class that doesn't talk as much. I've been trying to find ways to distinguish myself from the rest of the world as an individual. That is what got me interested in Social Media, because I can describe myself on my own terms through the "inner voice" of my head. I don't want to be remembered as someone who blends into society, or gets stereotyped with other people who are similar to me; I want to stand out and make a name for myself.