Yevu!...The White...

More questions from the peanut gallery – Do I ever get sick of being called yevu?  Yevu loosely means white person or just “other than us” in general.  The answer is… it depends.  I tend not to like to be called yevu or “the white” by adults as much.  I feel like it is respectful to try to recall my name as I would try to recall yours.  In the end though, I’ve come to expect it and not really get my nose bent out of shape.  The same with the children; I don’t mind so much when they use it as a term of endearment and call me that.  At times, though you will find yourself being followed all over (especially in small villages) by young children singing and calling you yevu as you go.  Sometimes, that can be a bit taunting.  Most times they are very young and small though and don’t really have the same understanding of social graces.  It’s important that, if it’s bothering you, you find a way to handle it.  99.9% of the time it doesn’t bother me, but if I ever find it bothering me I just ask the kids nicely in Ewe to go home and say goodbye to them.  More times than not, they listen and will stop chasing you (I mean chasing literally here) and calling you yevu in what might seem like a somewhat taunting way.  They truly mean nothing offensive by it so it’s always important to try your best to be patient and realize you’re simply different and naturally a bit of a spectacle to them.