Final Paper

The Truth about African Myths

            Before embarking on this Intersession trip to Senegal and The Gambia, I had many preconceived thoughts and images about life in African countries. These countries are generally not popular tourist destinations, so the average citizen is very ignorant towards African culture and society. Americans, myself included, have several stereotypes about the entire continent of Africa. We automatically assume these myths that are spread by word of mouth or through social media. Although I only traveled to two African countries, I believe that my experiences in both Senegal and The Gambia have allowed me to test the validity of these myths.

            The first myth and probably the most widespread myth is that Africa is a country and is very small. So many forget that Africa has 54 countries. These countries are not well known so we group them together as one and simply refer to them as “Africa.” I am especially guilty of this. I would tell friends and family members that I would be traveling to Africa in January to take a political science class. However, I should have said that I would be traveling to Senegal and The Gambia. I am not the only one guilty of this. I posted a few pictures on social media from my trip and I had numerous friends contact me asking where I was. I replied either Senegal or The Gambia depending on where I was at that time. Their replies: “Where the heck is that?” I believe that this fault can be attributed to the American education system. There are classes devoted to American History, European History, and Current Events. However, I have never heard of a class about African politics, society, or culture be offered in a high school. The only African history I had throughout grade school was basic information about the slave trade. In simple terms, Africa is forgotten about. If I were to say I was going to Europe to take a class, the popular response from people would be, “What country(ies)?” When I would say where I was going, people would know of that country. Not only the history of Africa, but also, it’s size is underestimated. Cartographers often draw Africa as a very small continent. However, Africa is quite large. A map was included in our course booklet that illustrated the entire United States, Europe, Argentina, and a few other places fitting inside the continent of Africa. This put into perspective how large Africa really is. Africa is large in land mass but also large in culture and history. Each country has something different to offer. In summary, the myth that Africa is a country and is small is most certainly false.

            The next myth of Africa is that wild animals such as zebras, giraffes, and lions are running all around. I firmly believed in this myth before arriving in Senegal and The Gambia. I believe that this myth stemmed from the famous Disney movie, The Lion King. So many have fell in love with this movie about talking and singing African animals. When people think about Africa, these animals often come to mind. I personally was most excited to see these animals during my trip. However, my mental images of these animals in their environments was quite different from what I expected to see. I thought, for example, that I would see a gazelle along the side of the road just as we see deer by and on the roads in Pennsylvania. We had to travel to a large animal reservation to see the gazelles, rhinos, zebras, water buffalo, and giraffes. We went to another park to see crocodiles and then to another reservation to see lions. These animals are not running around in the wild. The wild animals I did see surprised me. Lambs, goats, cows, oxen, dogs, and cats are running around everywhere. I am sure that others had similar premature thoughts about these animals, but I know the truth about this African myth. The setting of the Lion King is not a reality. You will not be able to see a giraffe when you walk outside. These were only my experiences in Senegal and The Gambia. I am not sure what animal life is like in other African countries. My experiences in these two countries though provided me with enough understanding of the animal culture in Africa.

            Another very common myth about Africa is that there is mass poverty. Many formulate a general statement that Africa is poor. Yes, parts of Africa are very poor, but so are parts of America. I was fortunate enough to witness both city and village life in both Senegal and The Gambia. There is a huge gap in wealth between the city and the village. The cities are quite modern. There is industry, large buildings, business men in suits, large mansions, and fancy cars. When driving through Dakar, Senegal, I saw more Range Rovers in thirty minutes than I have seen in my entire lifetime. Dr. Misawa told us that Range Rovers are a very prestigious car over in Africa and cost even more than the Range Rovers in America. Other students were pointing out fancy sports cars too. Dr. Misawa also pointed out gated communities of mansions that are worth millions. Prestigious dignitaries from all over the world live in these cities. The embassies even looked quite fancy and stately. I was shocked at the level of wealth in these cities. Drive an hour down the road and you’ll reach the villages. This is a whole different world: often no running water, no electricity, no Wi-Fi, no toilets, and little food or clothing. I was able to do a homestay in a village in The Gambia and experienced what life was like in the village. Food choices were very limited. I had rice for three out of three meals. They had no utensils either. Four to six people sit around a large plate and eat the food with their hands. Their “toilet”: a hole in the ground. The 16 year old boy I stayed with was fortunate enough to have his own bedroom. He only had a few outfits though. I only saw two T-shirts. This devastated me. I have close to 200 T-shirts. These people who have next to nothing were the happiest people though. These made me revalue my thoughts on material items. Do I really need these to have happiness? No. This myth of African poverty has some truth as from what I experienced in the village. However, this myth is not completely true from my views of city life in Senegal and The Gambia.

            Another relative myth is that of African hunger. We have all seen the commercials of sad African children that are starving. Sad music is playing in the background and the speaker says something along the lines of, “With just $15 a month, you could save a child’s life.” After living in Senegal and The Gambia, I would like to completely combat this myth. I do not think I have ever eaten so much on a trip. We ate three meals a day and I was full after almost every meal. A typical breakfast consisted of bread. A typical lunch and dinner was rice with meat: chicken, fish, or rice. Bread was also available at lunch and dinner. These heavy carbs (bread and rice) with protein from the meat really fill you up. I never went hungry. Of course, the food options are limited, but the food supply is not in danger. Now, I know that I am speaking from a tourist perspective. However, after eating with my host family in the village, I realized that they eat just as much if not more than Americans. Their food portions are enormous. I did not see anyone that was starving. I was full after five minutes of eating while my host continued to eat. Many think of Africans as sickly, skinny people but I was surprised to see that people are overweight in these countries. Obesity is prominent in Senegal and The Gambia. Even though these people are not eating the greasy, processed foods, they still eat in large quantities. I would like to pinpoint the amount of food as the reason for obesity in these countries, but I am not entirely certain. I also cannot speak for all of Africa, but in Senegal and The Gambia, hunger did not seem to be an issue.

            This next myth is of great interest to me. I have heard many students joke around that Africans communicate by a series of clicks and grunts. I have even seen these “clicking languages” be used as aspects of comedy in TV Shows and movies. I am not sure if this clicking method of communication was truly used in Africa at some time, but this is not an accurate representation of languages spoken in Africa. As a huge proponent of foreign language education, I was fascinated by the language intelligence these people have. Mandinka and Wolof are the native languages of Senegal and The Gambia. Each tribe/village then has it own language. Most have a basic understanding of English. French is also a native language in Senegal. The average person is fluent in three languages in these two countries. In America, it is uncommon to find someone that is even bilingual. We often brush off Africa and assume that they are not smart and will not contribute anything to the world. I’d have to disagree. Knowledge of all these languages allows these Africans to communicate with people from all around the world. I noticed that some even knew more than three languages. I was in a market in Senegal and pretended to be from Germany. I wanted to act like I did not understand the salespeople so that they would not bother me. Well, this plan failed. I was shocked when so many of the salespeople responded to me in German. I had full conversations with some of these salespeople in German. I asked one man where he learned German and he told me right here in the village. It never occurred to me how easily languages could be spread. I was highly impressed by the language capacity of these Africans and was a bit jealous. So no, there is no clicking and grunting, but there is a melting pot of languages from all around the world.

            The myth of Africa being dangerous and filled with diseases is quite common in today’s media. Again, this a blanket statement. There are parts of Africa that you would never want to go to because of conflict. Dr. Misawa is from Nigeria and he even said that he would not take students to his home country because it is not safe. However, my experiences in Senegal and The Gambia disproved this common myth. There was not a moment during my trip that I felt unsafe. The homestays we did in the village in Gambia could have been quite dangerous. Each student stayed with a different family and we were all spread out all over the village. These families did not go through background checks or screenings. I slept in a house with someone I had never met and I felt fine. The people I met on this trip were so friendly and wanted to get to know me, not harm me. There are places in America that are more dangerous than some of the areas of conflict in Africa. We only here about the violence of one tribe in Africa, not the drug deals and shootings in a small town in America. Regarding diseases, there are parts of Africa that have widespread sicknesses. Others have little to none. Dr. Misawa mentioned that if one disease breaks out somewhere in Africa, the media will make a big deal about it. The disease would be present in only one city in one country, not all of Africa. This news is then spread all over the world. However, when over 40 children have died in Pennsylvania from the flu this winter, the world has not heard about that. The media plays a huge part in this myth, only publishing the horror stories of Africa. I believe this myth needs to be corrected to: some parts of Africa are dangerous and diseases are no more prevalent in Africa than in the United States.

            I am sure that there are more myths about Africa, but these were the ones that were most common to me. As you can see, my experiences in Senegal and The Gambia disproved most of these myths. Africa has a large detachment from the rest of the world and the education about this continent is minimal to none. This is what creates these myths. Being able to visit these two countries and immerse myself in the daily culture was truly a valuable and unforgettable experience. I hope that this reflection enlightens many about the truth about these African myths. It is time for the world to know the truth about Africa.