"All Wzungu Ladies, All Wzungu Ladies..."

"How are you? How are you? How are you?"

This is all I hear.

"How are you?"

The phrase follows myself and my American colleagues down streets, on buses, in corners of Kibera.

"How are you?"

Sometimes, we'll hear something different.

"How is you?" or "How are yous?"

"Huh," I thought to myself. The children here are so friendly and extraverted. Instinctively, I reply with a big smile and sometimes a handshake, "I'm fine, how are you?"

Their response to this? Laughter. Followed by running.

It wasn't until my fourth day or so that Jenn (our guiding light throughout this journey!) informed us that this phrase was delivered to ALL mzungu (white people). "Oh," I said, slightly discouraged. Now, everything made sense - because if these children (and occasional adults - even parents!) weren't saying "how are you", it was "hey mzungu!" I just never really knew what it meant. And if my reply wasn't followed by broken giggles and high fives, it was followed with "give for me sweet" or "take for me picture."

So, maybe their intentions weren't quite the innocent salutations I had initially given them credit for, but hey - at least they're not holding back. For that, I give them props - and often times, a photo shoot.