Realization:
For all of my life up until now, when I ask where someone is from, the response "Africa" has always been good enough. As if it is a big homogeneous region (or a small city?) with a unified history. Or as if that part of the world was beyond subdivision for further comprehension.
Can you imagine a French person saying "I'm from Europe"?!
If someone is from New York City, I might ask "which part?"- I've only been to NYC three times and I have a good enough idea of its layout that I can associate most locations with at least some major landmark. I guess that's why "Africa" was always good enough: it was a pretty blurry picture anyway, and a pretty good chance I wouldn't even know which language was spoken in the country, its colonial history, the capital, where to find it on a map.
So that's one good thing I've come upon here. Africa is no longer some obscure region, tucked just off the globe. I read about conflicts now and I can envision them, place them (and I read the Economist articles about Kenya being on the brink of self-destruction, and wonder - seriously?! I'm just a couple hours from the worst of the 2007 post-election violence and everything seems pretty okay - but that's a different subject entirely). It's like I discovered a whole additional room in my house, which I always knew was there, but just disinterestedly never bothered to turn on the lights.
And I'm finding out that my high school friends from "Africa" aren't really just African at all... They're Eritrean, Nigerian, Somalian. It's embarrassing to admit that - to see something you should have seen all along, and face up to your own long-term ignorance. Why am I compounding my embarrassment by posting all of this on my blog? I don't know. To fully acknowledge and then move past it, maybe. In public. :)
Feeling smug? Test your African political geography here. (Study up, I'm challenging you all to a duel when I return!)
3 comments:
This has always been my sentiment exactly! As a matter of fact, I have never heard any "African" use the term, except in a specific geographic or political context. So imagine my surprise when I say I am Ethiopian and people say "but you don't look African!". My response (& you know I don't mince words) is usually "you don't know what Africa is." I even had someone get in a debate with me once about how Africa is one country and not a continent (in New Mexico)! As you know there are even people in many African countries that list their ethnic association and not their nationality much less their "African-ness"! So, I am really glad to see this from you!!!
Lullit
Amber,
We've been working on our African countries. Funny how many of them are totally unfamiliar. Anyway, I think your dad and Kim are ready to challenge you when you get home.
Love,
Mom
That's a cool realization. I made a similar one in South Africa alone & that was just one coutry.
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