[Ideal08]

Originally posted by RedefinedDiva
OK, I have some questions:

1. How was your presence received? I believe that we have all heard stories about Africans not being very... hospitable (for lack of a better term) to Black Americans. Is that true? Did you have that sort of experience?

They were very hospitable!! Now, they were very taken with the White people, let's get that straight. I mean, they weren't impressed with my presence at all, because I look like them. They didn't always know that I was American, and this is tripped out. They were shocked that there were so many Black people in America. The assumption is that America is rich and White. So I thought they were very nice. So I didn't have that experience. One dude said to me, "Black people, we are Diamond!" And he put his fist in the air! At first I thought he was giving me the Black Power sign, then I realized he was just saying we are strong, so it was not quite the Black Power sign. Then I had another man (the first dude's father, actually) tell me that they love Black people. When I was leaving, the man that runs OXFAM gave me a hug and as he did so, he said, "My sister." That's love, man.

2. Although you already brought it up, but do you believe that the poverty is "glamourized" for TV? I mean, we see the "nekkid" kids and the flies and stuff, but is it really like that?

Ok, this one is hard. No, it's not really like that as far as them being naked. Everyone has on clothes. Now they are old, dirty, torn and tattered, but they are dressed. Some of the kids in the village only had on shirts and not bottoms, but no one was completely naked. The flies, YES. I HATE FLIES. I hope I never see another one as long as I live. I HATE FLIES. HATE THEM. It feels so good to not have to deal with that. That is one thing I do NOT miss. They are all over you. It is SO GROSS. And it's worse on them, but we can't figure out why that is. I mean, the flies are bothersome. But they are over them a lot more than us. We tried to figure it out and couldn't. Maybe it's their smell, because there is an odor. And there are a lot of runny noses. You want to just wipe their noses. And they really do just let the flies crawl on them. But it still doesn't look like it does on TV. They aren't just out in the open for no reason, chillin, naked. Some people are plowing land, some people are going to get water, some kids are with the livestock. You don't get to see the whole picture. Now on the other hand, I had to think about why they show that stuff. Y'all, it's harder than you think to share this with people. I have no idea how to explain to you what I've seen. Until you can see the pictures, that will help. But the thing is, you want people to be as moved as you were by what you saw. But you won't be as moved, because you didn't see it. And we want you to be moved. We want people to want to help. and people should help. So you appeal to their emotions. Humans are driven by emotion, in everything we do, whether we like to admit it or not. So to get help, they try to move people. But I think they went too far. Because I've seen a video where you can hear the dude asking the mothers to lift their kids' clothes, so you can see the stomach and how skinny the kids are. On the one hand, you need to see it because you can't really see it in the clothes (until you hear the age of the child). But on the other hand, it's like, come on now. This is a hard one. I do think it is definitely overdone and gives a false perception of what the country is like. It's not all desert, either. There are lush, green areas that are just beautiful. But you know what, it does seem like all of the distribution centers (where they give away the bags of wheat) are in desert areas. Dang, I just thought about that, that's why it's like that on TV. But there are areas that are pretty and green and mountainous(sp?).

3. Did you have a chance to visit any of the schools? How did their education prepare them? What type of job opportunities are they provided?

I did visit a couple of schools. Understand that nothing over there is anything like over here. So erase what you are picturing. There is no plumbing in the schools because there is no water system. So there are no bathrooms. Basically the building is comprised of classrooms. Now, I didn't see schools in the city, only in the villages. I don't know what they are like in Addis, they may be bigger or different. Like, I'm sure in Addis, where most places have running water, the schools have bathrooms. But the ones I visited didn't. The students are VERY smart. And they WANT to learn. Some walk as far as 2 hours to get to school. But it is not a smooth transition from primary school to high school. Sometimes, there just isn't a high school in the area, and the closest one is too far to walk to. So it's not like here where everyone goes to school. You may only be able to send one of your kids to school because they only have so much space. So I don't really know how many go on to college, but some do. I met a couple of accountants. Now, one of them lived in a city where there is no bank, so he works as a tour guide. Some come to America and go to college, then go back over there to work. It just depends, I guess. It's not like here, they aren't really using education to prepare people for jobs. I'm not sure how to explain that, though. I'll have to get back to you on that.

4. Did you see the effects of the AIDS epidemic firsthand?

No, I didn't. The day that the group went to the AIDS orphanage, I was sick and couldn't go. So I didn't really SEE it, but it was discussed a lot. In addition to the famine and the drought, huge portions of money raised by NGO's go to support AIDS/HIV initiatives.

5. Are Africans very spiritual people? What religion is practiced there?

The ones that I met were spiritual. The religions that I came in contact with most were Islam and Christianity. It is said that the Ark of the Covenant is in the holy city of Axum, so you can imagine the level of spirituality there, especially. I did visit a lot of churches, the rock hewn ones in Lalibela were AMAZING.

That's all for now. I will think of more to post later....

How did I do? lol Ask more, I'll clean in the meantime. I am so slow. I want to clean my apartment, but I have been away from a computer for some SERIOUS quality time, and I am addicted, lol. It's a shame, truly.