Celebrity Sightings

Y'all are gonna love this one. =)

I've had some free time since arriving, which I have used as opportunities to go running in the area around the compound. As you might imagine, an Asian girl running up and down the roadside is not a common sight and has drawn some attention from the locals.

The most common thing that I have heard is "muzungu!" (Luganda for European or someone who is white). It's been most amusing when small children, who are so curious and excited to see someone so strange looking, attempt to come running alongside me shouting, "Hi, muzungu!!" or "Bye, muzungu", as their little hands are waving frantically back and forth. The Kool-Aid smiles when you say hello and wave back are the best.

Sometimes, I will also hear, "Hey, Mchina!" (Luganda for someone who is not necessarily Chinese but is of East Asian descent in general. Most people here have not seen enough East Asians to be able to differentiate). That's something I have tended not to respond to because I get harassed with that by primarily adult males.

Then on occasion, I would hear someone say, "Hey, nina!". This one was a new one for me. I had no idea what it mean, and at first, I thought that maybe it was something derogatory. However, I realized that small children and adults alike were calling me this, so I decided to ask my Ugandan colleague if that sounded familiar. I told her that I wasn't sure what the word was exactly, but it sounded like "nina" (Naturally, I made this association to my sister's name). I asked her what "nina" meant in Luganda, and she said that I must be mistaken because "nina" means "I have" in the language. She was certain that I was confusing it with China, and was I certain that they weren't saying China? However, I had heard it so many times at this point, I felt fairly confident that they were calling me "nina". Oh well, at least I had learned a new phrase. Nevertheless, this still had not solved the issue of why everyone was calling me "nina".

Then today, I met up with a new Ugandan friend that I had been put in touch with by a classmate at school. We were chit-chatting as she was driving me back to the compound, and I was recounting some of my experiences with the locals and their reactions to seeing me out and about the town. We happened back upon the subject of people calling me all these names. I told her, "People keep calling me this name, but nobody knows what they mean. They keep calling me 'nina'."

She immediately started cracking up and said, "Oh my god. I was just going to ask you if that's what they were calling you. I knew it. Hahaha. I know why they are calling you that."

FINALLY!! An answer!!! But I was totally not expecting the explanation that she was about to give me.

It seems people think that I am this woman...

Meet Kristine Hermosa, pinay acress and model, otherwise known as Yna. A-ha! She is the female lead on the Filipino soap opera, 'The Promise' (original title Pangako Sa 'Yo (English: My Promise to You) ).

But then I thought, seriously?!? Wow. I look nothing like her. She is an attractive woman to be certain, but these poor people -- the children especially -- were getting all excited thinking they've had an Yna sighting on the streets of Kampala. This soap opera has been broadcasting here for some time, completely translated into the local language, and it's wildly popular amongst Ugandans. As in, stop-talking-I-have-to-go-home-because-Yna-is-on popular. As in, I-cannot-focus-on-doing-your-hair-so-sit-in-the-chair-and-wait-until-Yna-is-over distracting. I am told it has become somewhat of a national obsession.

Thus, before learning any other phrases in Luganda, I immediately decided to ask one of the local staff guys to teach me how to say "I am not Yna" in Luganda. Hahaha. I figured I should know how to respond accordingly and attempt to set the people straight because, apparently, all Asians DO look alike after all. Come to think of it, maybe I should've asked him to teach me how to say, "Why yes, I AM Yna. Very nice to meet you." =P