Kaleidoscope Africa | editorial

"He cannot be a perfect man,
Not being tried and tutored in the world."

Two Gentlemen of Verona, i, 3

Africa is, without a doubt, the most compelling continent in the public imagination - and sometimes because it is so misunderstood. Its many peoples only appear in the current Western spotlight as victims of gruesome tragedies. There is always an epidemic, war, genocide, or famine to keep us wide-eyed. People who travel there by choice are always given particularly teary goodbyes, as though they will only come back with superviruses, battle stories, completely new personalities - or maybe not at all.

Even the word "Africa" represents something false. I rarely hear "North American" used to describe a Hollywood movie, nor have I ever thought of fish and chips as a European dish. It is perfectly acceptable, though, to listen to African music, to volunteer in Africa, to eat at an African restaurant, to walk past African street vendors. We understand our own specifics but generalize our distant neighbors.

There are thousands of possible experiences to have on the African continent. The regional differences, national differences, urban/rural differences, and the differences between villages provide infinite variety.