One of the most enjoyable aspects of being in Africa is that as a mzungu (whitey, honky etc etc) you are always easily spotted, and people like to engage with you. Walking around in Africa almost everywhere you go you turn heads, and if you have the disposition I have to engage with everyone with a smile, it isn't long before people start taking the piss - and it seems the most popular way of doing this is to give you a name.
In Livingstone, in Zambia, I was called Jesus - everywhere where I went in town, especially in the market people called out "Hey, Jesus", more from the beard than the glow above my head I think. When I finally succumbed and got my beard shaved off, people started calling out - what happened to Jesus ? - so I guess I had to lose my crucifixion complex.
But the most impressive comparison I have come across was in Malawi, walking down the road in Nkarta Bay. A guy said hello, we responded, and then he came out with the classic line
"You are a very beautiful man, you look like Chuck Norris"
What can you say to that !!!
A travel blog for the thinking clown who has drunk a little too much of the local tap water
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