Mzungu

7 hours from New York to Amsterdam
5 hours in Amsterdam, on a pleasant recliner chair in the very pleasant airport.
8 hours from Amsterdam to Entebbe

At the front receiving line is Eve, or Dr. Eve, bearing a handwritten sign that said “Dr. Veronica”. She is tiny, but warm and welcoming. The greeting is awkward; a handshake is too formal, a hug too intimate, so I do a little of both and then it's just weird.

I meet her two sisters, Grace and Betty, and either Betty’s two daughters, 2 and 3 years old, in dresses with close-cropped hair, wide-eyed and fascinated by the mzungu. The older one stares and stares at me, and is pleased to sit next to me in the car. The younger falls asleep immediately on the drive, but in a peculiar way, reaches her hand behind her sister to rest it on my arm in her sleep.
According to Eve, the older girl will have exciting stories to tell at school tomorrow. If only everyone found me this riveting.