When I Say Africa, You Say…??
Africa Isn’t a Country
If I were to ask you what’s the first thing that comes to mind about “Africa”, what would be your answer?
More than likely your answer would be something you’ve seen in movies. Whether it’s windswept savannahs, wild animals running free, people in tribal dress, starving children, or even violent warlords, I’m not sure people outside of the continent realize what a beautiful and diverse place “Africa” is.
If you listen to pop culture, Hollywood in particular, you’d be hard pressed to know what an amazing, wonderful, and diverse place “Africa” is. Despite what the movies tell you, "Africa" isn't a monolithic place. It's an amazing tapestry of countries, languages, cultures, and history just dying to tell you their stories.
It’s not all windswept savannas with giraffes and elephants roaming in the background. Granted, yes, you can find those here, but “Africa” is so much more.
From Stranger in a Strange Land…
I think one of the most striking things is seeing how the rest of the world, particularly the West, sees “Africa”.
I’m using “Africa” in quotes because, and let’s be honest, unless specifically talking about war or famine that’s how people in the west refer to it here, no matter the country.
I often refer to myself as the “stranger in a strange land” because it best describes my experience. Aside from South Africa being, well, a strange land half a world away from everything that shaped my life and my worldview, it’s also a strange land because it’s nothing like I had imagined it to be.
I consider myself to be fairly well read and informed about the world, including the fact that yes, there are other countries, and I know the US has its shortcomings and isn’t the land of milk and honey portrayed in the American mythology. Yet I don’t think I grasped the depth of my own ignorance about “Africa” and how strong my Ameri-centric bias still was.
Ok.. embarrassing story time.
Before I moved here, Kim and I spent a lot of time talking via WhatsApp and there were plenty of times where I would talk about my day or how America works, and Kim would say “we don’t do that here”. One day we were talking about cellphones, for some reason, and the differences between our two countries and how cell plans worked. Like, in the US, unlimited text and data are a given, but here in SA they’re not. I must have had a mini-stroke, because out of nowhere I asked her “Do you have cell phone stores there?”
Yes, I really said that.
I wanted to crawl into a hole after I realized what I said and to this day I’m still embarrassed about that.
So, yeah, I had some unconscious biases when it came to “Africa”. Since moving here, I’ve committed to learning about what makes South Africa tick. Whether it’s learning some basic Afrikaans so I can say hi to my neighbors and the people in the shops, learning about the history of this beautiful country, or just trying to learn how things work here, I’ve undertaken a conscious effort to clear my own blind spots both known and unknown.
…To Home Sweet Home
It amazes me how fast the last year has gone. Tomorrow is June 1st, and winter is on its way (which is still weird to me), and come the end of August, less than 90 days from now, I’ll have been here a year.
Learning to live in a different country, on a different continent, in a different hemisphere has been like drinking from a firehose at times, and frustrating as hell at other times. Unlearning what I’ve known and learning new words, names of things, cultural and social mores, and how to navigate life has been one hell of an adventure.
I can’t tell you how many times Kim and I will be either sitting at home, driving around, or out somewhere and both of just go quiet and look around, taking everything in. Both of us agree that there’s no place we’d rather live.
It’s just…happier here. Yes, SA has its problems, but they don’t consume your life like they do in the US. It’s a testament to the people here that they just let things roll off their backs because they realize there’s much more to life than worrying about shit you can’t control.
Plus…the wine here is amazing!!
Ready to Explore
Once my Temporary Resident visa is granted Kim and I are planning to explore more of what “Africa” has to offer, and I cannot wait. We’re planning on a honeymoon in Tanzania, spending time in Dar es Salaam and on the beach in Zanzibar. Other places on the list: Namibia, Kenya, and Rwanda for starters. There’s so much to see, I don’t know if we’ll ever get to it all…but I’m up for the challenge. I’m ready to see “Africa” in all its amazingness.
