Jun 25 2011
Culture Clash?
A picture from the hippy restaurant - it was beautiful. Those are grape vines growing on the canopy.
When we left for Africa I expected to be completely outside my culture. And at first it did feel like a new world where 99% of the people don’t speak English (or more accurately, I don’t speak Arabic).
After a while, feeling out of place began to feel normal. Pretty much everywhere we go, we entertain people by bumbling around or just plain sticking out. This culture loves to laugh, so I’ve learned to laugh with the people doubled over watching us or the children mimicking us. Pretty quickly that tactic means I have new friends.
(To prevent a misapplied stereotype, most of the time this laughter is very kind. The people here look up to Americans and the children mimic us because they want to try doing it the way we do – not to be mean. I am humbled by their attitude toward us. They are kinder to us then they would probably be treated in America. I will never look at an international visitor to America the same way again.)
What really throws me now is when I encounter something that would be normal in America with an African flair.
Here are some examples:
African Goths
A couple of nights ago I met two university students for dinner. One of the women was covered from head to toe in black. It is over 100 degrees outside and I thought, “This poor woman, forced to be covered from head to toe in black in this heat.” (I don’t say that proudly, I am being honest. I realize some people do choose to dress that way and I respect that even if I do think it looks extremely uncomfortable.)
During dinner, this woman and new friend asked me if I like heavy metal music. I said, “Not really, do you?”
“Oh yes! Can’t you tell? That is why I wear all black.”
I asked her how her parents feel about it and she told me, with some glee, that they worry about the way she dresses and the music she listens to.
I felt like I was in some strange plane – here was a Muslim university student acting exactly like millions of goths around the world. Of course… but still…. who knew?
African Hippies
Another time I was surprised by something too normal was during our trip to the waterfall (pictures coming).
After we had driven past nomadic sheep herders and made our way down a mountain we suddenly came across a series of restaurants and camp grounds. The first one we came to urged us to stay and relax a while. All four of us had the same thought – for how much? Making a living is hard here and if you even look at people for too long they want money this far outside the city.
But really, he didn’t want money. “Please, relax. Come enjoy life with us,” he urged.
About then I realized the walls had paintings of Bob Marley, the guy inviting us had dreads and a rainbow hat and there were candle stubs everywhere.
Yep, we had found a enclave of African hippies.
They were wonderful hosts and looked out for us when we jumped off the waterfall. But again… hippies in a Muslim country? Of course. I just never guessed.
There are a few other things that have made me laugh:
I saw a shirt that said “FBI: Federal Bank Investigators”
A man tried to sell me a Nike bag that declared under the logo “Authenlic and Orgininal” (sic).
If you want to insult someone you call them “Dar Boosh.” As is President Bush. (President Obama is pretty popular.)
Sometimes the women’s restroom is labeled “Femmes” and the men’s is labeled “Hommes.” (I get it – it is French, but still, now we know where the gangstas got the hommie idea from.)
On the less funny side:
Cigarettes are cool, especially for men. So they scatter them on men’s jeans or shirts in store displays. And smoke is in every restaurant and cafe.
Someone convinced some of the people Coke a Cola has nutrients. So one family I know mixes Coke with orange soda so that their young son will “get all of his nutrients” each day.
Instead of children’s vitamins, they sell milk with a lot of sugar and the vitamins added. One cup has all the vitamins a children’s multivitamin would have, including iron. I was very grateful a friend told me because iron poisoning is common cause of infant and child death and this milk is super sweet. Meaning, the kids LOVE it and Annada was going from person to person in the house asking for more. The milk does not have any warnings on it.