Mambo Halfcaste!

"Mambo Halfcaste" is the greeting I received today when I entered the cafe downstairs in the Tribunal. It is basically like saying "What's up Mixed Girl". I relied the standard reply "Poa" meaning cool/good but it kind of took me off guard. I have heard people refer to me as a halfcaste here before but I am still trying to figure out in what context they are using it. They have also referred to my friend here that is Chinese as "China" pronounced "chee-nah". I don't think that it is a derogatory term here but for some reason I keep equating it to the "N word". At the same time, I guess it is a step up from being called "Bruni" meaning white person, as I was referred to in Ghana. I spent my time there trying to convince people that I was black. I haven't had to do that here but it still feels weird for someone just to call you "Halfcaste". I keep thinking back to when I was little and people would call me "Oreo", or "Mutt". I wonder if Obama has ever been called "Halfcaste" in his trips to Africa???????