NaijaPositive.com

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Myths About African Travel

These myths include but are not limited to the following:

Africa is full of dangerous wildlife everywhere

Dangerous wildlife constitutes only a very small part of Africa and only a small portion of Africa contains significant wildlife. Africa is full of interesting people and cultures, not dangerous wildlife. You do not see lions and tigers walking up and down the street.

African people are very dangerous and violent

In fact, the exact opposite is true. I feel safer walking in Africa at night than I feel in most American cities. In most African countries, violent crime is not prevalent and you do not hear of serial killers or children shooting up their schools in Africa. You almost never hear shouting or fights in the street. In fact, loud public screaming is generally considered uncouth.

Let me point out that Africa is not paradise, but neither is it the netherworld and there exists politically inspired violence in a few selected countries. However, these few countries do not represent Africa as a whole and in general Africa is a very peaceful place. As a whole, Africa is a lot less dangerous than the United States, because in most places the incidents of violent crime are very low.

Africa is nothing but famine and drought

Whenever I go to Africa, I usually gain weight from all of the food I eat. Most countries have their own bottled water that can be readily purchased and most of the food is so fresh and natural that I come back to America healthier than when I left. You must be careful about what you eat because sometimes the food is very hot and the specter of diarrhea lingers if you drink the tap water. Still, always be careful of what and where you eat and avoid the same types of greasy spoons like you would avoid in the U.S.

African people are uncivilized and uneducated

Africa, via Egypt, is the mother of all civilizations. The Egypt we see today is not the Egypt of the past. The founders of Egypt were Black Africans. Additionally, West African Empires were the seats of knowledge during the Middle Ages. African people today are very polite and urbane and most Africans speak at least three languages while we in America struggle with only English. Education is valued in Africa and most school children are very disciplined and want to learn.

It takes about 14 hours to fly to Africa.

I have heard this statement over and over again. Granted, if you are going to East Africa it takes a long time. But a non-stop plane to Dakar Senegal from New York's JFK Airport is a mere seven (7) hours -- six and one half (6 ½) hours if you get a strong tail wind. For a little more time than it takes to fly from New York to California, and less time than it takes to fly from New York to Hawaii, you can be in West Africa on a non-stop flight.

RootsRecoverd
11/10/06

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