This week I have been thinking a lot about African stereotypes and assumptions made by the general western world (the biggest one being that Africa is a country - in case you were not aware, Africa is a continent composed of over 50 diverse countries...exact numbers differ depending on which disputed countries you include and which website you check). When Africa is mentioned, I think people associate it with beautiful scenery, HIV/AIDS, living in straw huts, poverty, lions and elephants, war, etc. I think there are quite a few generalizations made about Africa, and I will admit that I have seen every single one of the things listed above (except for the lion - I haven't seen that...yet!). But there is so much more to Africa than that.
Africa is not just one homogeneous country (as mentioned before).
Three years ago tomorrow I arrived in Malakal, South Sudan for the first time. Three months ago yesterday I arrived in Durban, South Africa for the first time. I believe I have been to the two extremes of this continent.
Before arriving in South Africa, I knew that it would be different than when I was in South Sudan. But I don't think I really realized how different. I just mentally associated all of Africa with my brief six month stint in one city, when really Durban and Malakal are on complete opposites of a spectrum. I can't help but compare them, but at the same time I don't really even know where to start with comparing them (I know that doesn't make any sense at all, but it's how I feel).
Malakal. I loved living in Malakal. I loved my little tent. I loved going to the market and bartering with vendors. I loved (and hated) trying to learn Arabic, and all the goofs that went along with that. I loved my students, who could be so mischievous, but could smile their way out of any situation (I didn't enjoy the teaching so much, but I loved my students). I loved visiting ladies and sipping coffee with them. (I realize I'm making this sound very idealistic. Don't get me wrong - there are definitely things I did NOT enjoy, like the mud, my frustrations as a teacher, and the toilet situation...or lack of one.)
I am also loving living in Durban, but it is SOOO different. At night I don't hear animals...I hear cars (and occasionally the crazy cat that lives near my flat). I don't barter with merchants at the market, but instead drive to massive shopping centers that I get extremely lost in (does one mall really need TWO movie theaters?). Instead of fighting the mud every time I want to go somewhere, I can take leisurely walks on a sidewalk to the park or beach. And when I am walking, I don't stand out as a white foreigner, but instead blend into the melting pot of cultures that exists here. In fact, in Durban it is sometimes easy to forget that I'm not in Canada...until I actually start visiting with people and am very quickly reminded of the huge cultural differences that I couldn't even begin to understand.
I don't really know if there is a point to this post. I think the fact that it was three years ago that I first arrived in Sudan (which was a huge influence on me being here in South Africa) has just made me stop and reflect on the different parts of the world that I have visited. And how I can't sum up any of those places in just a few words, because they are more than stereotypes. They are real places with real people with real stories.
Africa is not just one homogeneous country (as mentioned before).
Three years ago tomorrow I arrived in Malakal, South Sudan for the first time. Three months ago yesterday I arrived in Durban, South Africa for the first time. I believe I have been to the two extremes of this continent.
Before arriving in South Africa, I knew that it would be different than when I was in South Sudan. But I don't think I really realized how different. I just mentally associated all of Africa with my brief six month stint in one city, when really Durban and Malakal are on complete opposites of a spectrum. I can't help but compare them, but at the same time I don't really even know where to start with comparing them (I know that doesn't make any sense at all, but it's how I feel).
Malakal. I loved living in Malakal. I loved my little tent. I loved going to the market and bartering with vendors. I loved (and hated) trying to learn Arabic, and all the goofs that went along with that. I loved my students, who could be so mischievous, but could smile their way out of any situation (I didn't enjoy the teaching so much, but I loved my students). I loved visiting ladies and sipping coffee with them. (I realize I'm making this sound very idealistic. Don't get me wrong - there are definitely things I did NOT enjoy, like the mud, my frustrations as a teacher, and the toilet situation...or lack of one.)
I am also loving living in Durban, but it is SOOO different. At night I don't hear animals...I hear cars (and occasionally the crazy cat that lives near my flat). I don't barter with merchants at the market, but instead drive to massive shopping centers that I get extremely lost in (does one mall really need TWO movie theaters?). Instead of fighting the mud every time I want to go somewhere, I can take leisurely walks on a sidewalk to the park or beach. And when I am walking, I don't stand out as a white foreigner, but instead blend into the melting pot of cultures that exists here. In fact, in Durban it is sometimes easy to forget that I'm not in Canada...until I actually start visiting with people and am very quickly reminded of the huge cultural differences that I couldn't even begin to understand.
I don't really know if there is a point to this post. I think the fact that it was three years ago that I first arrived in Sudan (which was a huge influence on me being here in South Africa) has just made me stop and reflect on the different parts of the world that I have visited. And how I can't sum up any of those places in just a few words, because they are more than stereotypes. They are real places with real people with real stories.
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