What is Africa?

What is Africa?

What is it like to live in Africa?

What makes someone or something African?

You might think that having lived here in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania for the last seven months I would be able to answer these questions.

You might think that I now have an insider’s view of this part of the world.

You might think that I understand or gasp or even belong to Africa in a greater sense.

The majority of my time here has been spent learning. Learning language, learning about people’s lives, learning about myself, learning to be far from home, learning about Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, my neighborhood called Mabibo. One of the most interesting lessons that I have been reflecting on lately has to do with the vastness that is Africa.

Growing up in America and being educated through the eyes of the Western world, certain stereotypes, prescribed ideas and visions of what Africa is has influenced my views within this experience. Of course! Enculturation, media and tendencies toward ethnocentric understandings are universal. We see the rest of the world through the eyes of our own culture. (This is one of the running themes of anthropology classes that I took during my undergrad). That being said, my understanding of Africa were largely based on things like The Lion King, Save the Children infomercials and calls to action clubs on my college campus. Have I heard the phrase ‘hakuna matata’? Yes. Am I faced with poverty and children in need? Definitely. Are there actions that the West can take that could bring effective aid to Africa? Yes.

I am embarrassed to admit this in many ways that it took moving abroad and living in a place so different from my own home to start truly appreciating the diversity and vastness of this world. Trying to explain what is African or who is African is impossible. I am still learning, seeing and feeling the extreme differences that make each person, tribe, country and location within the continent unique. Thinking about the experiences of Africans in Libya or Sudan and then comparing that to the longstanding peacefulness of Tanzania, I am struck by the vast differences of ‘life in Africa’. Wars rage, revolutions erupt, peace endures and Africa continues struggling to overcome the effects of colonialism imposed for centuries. As new forms of marginalization and oppression infiltrate African soil through big corporations, farm subsidies and neocolonial pressure, countless cultures strive to maintain their identities in this constantly changing world.

To emphasize my point, I think about how different Seattle and Spokane, Washington are. Then compare Washington State to the State of Mississippi. Even more drastically but still within North America, Mexico City and Anchorage, Alaska. Diversity. It is easy for me as an American to say: “Seattle and New York… different worlds”. Likewise, prior to moving to Tanzania I didn’t think twice about saying: “yeah, I would love to see Africa” or “Africa seems so interesting to me”. It is amazing how blanketing and overwhelming those statements are. Africa is HUGE! There are Africans with skin whiter than mine. Some speak French, others Bantu languages. Some live in villages made of mud and thatched roofs while others dwell in high rise condos. Some eat with their hands and others with fork and knife. There is just so much diversity that I feel inspired to learn more!

It is also a struggle to understand the diversity of Africa as many of the stereotypes that I had about Africa are true of or are within Tanzania. Tanzania contains the largest peak in Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro. Some of Africa’s most famous, most impressive Nature Reserves, National Parks and Conservation Areas are here in Tanzania. The Serengeti, elephants, giraffes, lions, zebras, cheetahs and so on dwell here. The Maasai are one of the most photographed, studied, preserved and fascinating tribes in the whole world. (My anthropology professors cited this culture in almost every class I took). Tanzania is full of fertile farmlands and natural resources. You can fine tropical islands, deserts, mountain ranges, grasslands and forests. Tanzania is also part of the developing world making it impossible to overlook the extreme poverty and lack of infrastructure.

Tanzania has a lot going for it and I am blessed to witness so much of it. However, as learn more about this country, I find myself wanting to question more and more my biases and then dive deeper into seeing Africa in a more holistic sense. (Don’t worry mom, I am still planning on coming home at the end of my service... no cross-continent expeditions are planned as of yet). I do find myself being challenged to keep learning. I continue to push myself to see more, ask more questions, listen more, eat more crazy foods and so on! I guess in a way I am also challenge anyone reading this to see and think of Africa in a different light, as I am striving to do. Friends, have your views of Tanzania and Africa changed since you started reading this blog?