What's A 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.