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  1. Maya says

    Yes yes I am guilty of some of the assumptions and I have been to Egypt but not any other place in Africa. Here on the uae us Emirati we have all been to Egypt 🇪🇬 because it’s a beautiful country but we haven’t been to any other place in Africa and then we all assume all of these assumptions (allll of them).

  2. Helen says

    I just love this post so much!! I admit that as an American I am probably guilty of all of those assumptions at least during one part of my life. It mostly stems from people just not understanding or being knowledgeable about Africa. When I was in school, my teachers didn’t teach me the history of Africa, .just how it relates to American history (so basically the slave trade). So the little that we do know about Africa, we let it color our perceptions of what Africa really is. And that is truly sad. 🙁

  3. Ahsan Jamil says

    Well a good attempt against the tide. Writings like that help to clear the dust of misunderstanding from eyes of the ignorant people like me. Keep us updated.
    Thanks

  4. Michelle (Boomer Eco Crusader) says

    I have never been to Africa but I have to admit I find it a very interesting place. Did I tell you my daughter was supposed to to go to Kenya last year on a service learning trip? Sadly the pandemic put and end to that. Such a shame. It would have been a life-changing experience for her.

    I try not to make assumptions about places without doing my homework. I’m always amazed about some of the things people assume about Canada. Sadly the worst culprits are our wonderful neighbours to the south. No, it doesn’t snow here 12 months a year.

    • Shelly DS says

      Aw shame! I really hope she’s able to visit this year~ Kenya is a pretty place to visit, and it’s very green but also has extremely white sand by the coast. Definitely a poster African country!
      Your neighbors are special 😅

      • Michelle (Boomer Eco Crusader) says

        Sadly, I think the Kenya ship has sailed as many in the class that were going have moved on to college or university, and the rest (including my daughter) are graduating this year, and we are still under heavy travel restrictions.

        It’s a shame because it’s hard to do a trip like that after you leave school. Some people are adventurous and will do it on their own, but my daughter isn’t that way inclined. Going with a school group was the perfect scenario for her.

    • Shelly DS says

      Lol you’d be surprised how many people have made that mistake! 🤦🏾‍♀️ and mainly Americans too 😅 What do you guys learn in school?! 🥴

      • LoseWeightWithAng says

        I’m Canadian! But it doesn’t help that most of the footage we see from Africa is commercials for charities showing starving kids with no drinking water 😅

  5. Happy Panda says

    Africa is a country 🤣 Wow.

    People are so misguided in their misconceptions. I can’t wait to visit Africa – I have so many bucket list places to visit from Mt. Kilimanjaro to Masai Mara – can’t wait! ❤️

    • Shelly DS says

      Look at you eyeing the east! 😊
      You should definitely come down to the south too~ it’s so gorgeous!
      PS- not everyone has 20/20 vision 😛

  6. vaniheart says

    Haha the first paragraph tho 😂😂😉
    But its not entirely people’s fault they have been fed stereotypes both in breakfast in dinner since childhood 😏😏 Africa is a country 😂😂
    Well all things apart, how’s your pet lion doing??. Pet him gently from my side too 😂😂😉😉

    • Shelly DS says

      Aww thanks for caring so much about Kobu, our pet lion. He’s doing very well and growing so big! Soon, he will be too big to jump on us when we come home from hunting and gathering berries 💔

  7. Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle says

    Kudos to you for clearing up the misconceptions about your continent. I’m sure many people have bad misconceptions about Jamaica too e.g. it’s a violent place, we all smoke weed or live on a beach. I know because I hear and read about those misconceptions all the time. I don’t smoke and none of my friends and relatives do either.. but it is true that marijuana is available for those who want it.

    • Shelly DS says

      Wait… you don’t smoke weed all day?! 🤯
      Jokes 😂 But yeah, that’s exactly it! When I hear someone is going to Jamaica, I think they are going either for the food, beaches or livelihood. But when I say I want to go to Jamaica, I get asked “just so you can smoke weed?”
      Is there increased crime because of the free marijuana use?

      • Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle says

        You know I’m not sure how much the marijuana affects our high crime rate, but it probably does contribute. Our main root causes of crime though are poverty, corruption and the stark inequalities of wealth. Because of this, some criminals just become ruthless.. they want to live “hype” or a good life, and turn to crime e.g. drugs, scamming, theft, to fund that goal rather than working hard the legitimate way. And ofc, this creates gangs and then eventually gang violence, and as a result majority of our crime is contained in small pockets of Jamaica. So you’ll just hear people say “don’t venture to x and y”. Stay in the touristy areas or in the mountains/rural areas. Don’t enter the slums without a local, and even so… I don’t really go to these places either.

  8. bosssybabe says

    Thank you for this post! While I didn’t think any of these stereotypes (I promise), you expressed each point in great detail that I felt it was a mini education session. Perhaps I never thought deeply about what I thought Africa to be like other than VERY VERY HOT but I definitely knew it wasn’t anything (as in everywhere in Africa) like those stereotypical feed the children commercials or that Bandaid charity Christmas collab song. I’ve also had the pleasure of getting to know a wide variety of people from different parts of the world and I’ve loved seeing the diversity! 🙂

  9. Markus + Micah says

    Your post made me laugh, thanks! The first one in particular applies to many developing countries. I think about the hate Mexicans are receiving from the US and wonder, do they think all Mexicans are poor or uneducated? Same with the Ph. Some parts are unsafe but not all parts. Bottom line is I cannot wait to explore Africa when the world allows. I am sure it holds many wonders!

    • Shelly DS says

      Haha I’m glad you got a giggle out of it! And you’ve raised the biggest problem – generalisation based on a stereotype. And in most cases, it couldn’t be more wrong!

  10. Dacia says

    Needing a Master’s degree in Nigeria for entry level jobs blows my mind. I’m honestly curious now about how easy college access is in Africa.

    I knew prior to this that areas of Africa were developed, I’ve just always thought that devotion to tradition outweighed the devotion to modern culture (does that make sense?) I also knew there were areas that spoke French!

    • Shelly DS says

      Hahah yeah, I wouldn’t know how hard it is to be honest. But I presume it isn’t easy.
      Africans do value culture quite a bit, but that doesn’t stop us from becoming modernized. It’s usually the food and cultural practices that never go away, while our surroundings change with time. 😉

  11. Josephine Nerissa Leão Panzo says

    What is sad about these assumptions is that oftentimes a lot of diaspora Africans help feed these misconceptions by not bothering to defend our nations, forgetting that in cases like these keeping silent is taken as confirmation.

    • Shelly DS says

      You raise a fair point. I think the biggest problem is feeling a bit embarrassed or ashamed of being from a place that everyone considers to be a poor jungle. I know I’ve felt that way when people spoke badly about Africa!

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