It\u2019s the end of another good session under the scalding\nKisumu sun. The 50 kids in my sections are all gathered around as I conclude\nthe roundup, where we reinforce the HIV messages we\u2019ve been learning.\nEveryone\u2019s on point with their ABCTs, but I have another question for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Mzungus<\/em>,\u2019 I say, \u2018are very good at cricket. However,\nthey are famously bad at something. Can anyone tell me what it is?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n They usually get there quick enough – I prime them earlier\nby using \u2018dance like a mzungu<\/em>\u2019 in one of the relay drills we do, getting\nthem to throw some pseudo-Saturday Night Fever<\/em> shapes when they reach\nthe last cone. (NB: mzungu<\/em> is Swahili for \u2018white person\u2019 \u2013 originally\nmeaning \u2018traveller\u2019, it\u2019s not a pejorative, and you get used to being called it\nvery quickly out here.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once we\u2019re all on the same page, it\u2019s time to start the\nprocession, from our corner of the dusty, pocked field to where all the\nsections convene. The kids are quick to pick up the chant:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It grows in intensity as we wind our way on. I feel the\ncollective noise of their voices as a physical force on my back. It\u2019s actually\ngetting less mzungu\u00ad<\/em>-like and more rhythmic, more incantatory. The kids\nare having a great time \u2013 I\u2019m not sure they\u2019re used to seeing \u2018adults\u2019 willing\nto make plonkers of themselves – but for me it\u2019s nothing short of magical. I\u2019m\nbreathless, dancing and chanting, chanting and dancing. The pie-eyed piper. In\na weird way, I\u2019ve never felt more myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Had I showed the video of it to my younger self, he would\nnever have believed it possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDance like a mzungu!
Dance like a mzungu!
Dance like a mzungu!<\/em><\/pre>\n\n\n\n