Glue boys: Homeless boys who live in the slums and sniff shoe glue as a means to get high. With brains forever damaged by this toxic substance, they are mentally and physically impaired, unpredictable, and dangerous to the community
Flying Toilets: Because public restrooms cost money, and the 10X10 ft shanties don't have plumbing, many people use plastic bags as toilets and leave them on the ground in the slums.
Mother Tongue: Educated Kenyans speak English, but many people living in the slums only speak Swahili and their ancestor's tribal language- their mother tongue.
Mzungu: "Crazy White Person." Citizens from Mathare call all the interns this. At one time offended, I now readily answer to it.
from Yiddish dictionary:
ReplyDelete# meshuga, also meshugge, meshugah, meshuggah: crazy (Yiddish משוגע meshuge, from Hebrew məšugga‘) (OED, MW)
# meshugas: madness, nonsense, irrational idiosyncrasy (Yiddish משוגעת meshugas, from Hebrew məšugga‘ath, a form of the above) (OED)
am i allowed to start calling you crazy white person when we're back? maybe you'll still answer to it for a while?
ReplyDeletei second john's request... i would love to call you mizungo, even though apparently i am one too
ReplyDelete