A F R I C A

Happy Africa Day!

Nothing makes me happier than telling someone I'm from the beautiful continent of Africa. There's something special about this continent. It's indescribable. It's a feeling. It's ephemeral. Africa has life and I don't mean that in the typically Western perception of an Africa, filled with dancing people who smile stupidly. It goes deeper than that. This continent is filled with survivors. People who have suffered so much yet there is still a fire in their eyes. There's still this quiet determination to overcome or to simply live life on their own terms. Obviously I am generalising and I'm not naive or misinformed enough to think that we don't have our fair share of problems. If anything, we're known for our problems. We're a charity case to the rest of the world. A place and a people in constant need of nurturing and a firm hand. We have no names, no distinctions, no character. Just a void space, waiting to be occupied by the superior ways of others.

I reject this image of Africa and I give people a true image of what my continent has to offer. It's a hybrid mix of people, places, races, cultures and general attitudes. There's something for everyone in Africa. It goes beyond wildlife (which you find in game parks and not, contrary to popular thought, in the streets). It goes beyond simple song and dance.

It's Africa. I can't quite describe its majestic nature. You have to see it for yourself :)