500 days in Africa

500 days, 11 countries, from the "not poor, not hot, not sick" East Africa to the real "poor, sick, hot" West Africa, the generator outside the window roared, the lights in the room flashed slightly with the floating voltage, looking around their own room, the table was filled with Chinese, English and French books, Nestle Weihua, aloe aloe juice, Chicken Feet with Pickled Peppers; At the head of the bed are out of africa toys, blanket mats made in Kashmir, six gods mosquito repellent, essential oils, cockroach spray; safari leather hats hanging on the walls, key chains from Mauritania, and mouse stickers and clumps of bait.

A bird's-eye view of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

Food supplies brought from home, products with global recognition bought by large supermarkets, plus some decorations with African characteristics, big houses, gardeners' small yards, air conditioners, cars, generators, this is a concrete description of the living conditions of foreigners living in Africa. When I came to Africa, what my parents and friends worried most about my life in Africa was whether I would live in a wild hut like the locals, eat chaff, eat vegetables and drink dirty water, and talked to the chief as soon as I went out. I was surrounded by a group of blacks who could not see their facial features at night, bumping into a gorilla lion from time to time. I was only amused when I heard these remarks at first, but later I realized that people's imaginary life in Africa is actually a standard understanding of the level of development in Africa. In fact, the vast majority of foreigners in Africa and the emerging middle class in Africa still live in the "modern society" model. It is true that some staff, volunteers and scholars of non-governmental organizations conduct humanitarian relief and academic research in relatively poor places, but usually after a few months, they will also return to "normal life"-- no one will really integrate themselves into the living conditions of most people in Africa. People from outside Africa will spare no effort to create a "normal life" with electricity and electricity. There is clean water and food, and even in Africa, it is Africa that adapts to the "international" standard of living.

Sunrise in Mogadishu, Somalia.

as foreigners, we are not only living a different life from most Africans, but also accustomed to giving them advice as outsiders, just as we say people from Henan and Shanghai. People who have been in Africa for a few months almost always talk about "how about Africa" and "how about blacks". It seems that everyone is an old Youtiao who lives in Africa. In fact, many people leave Africa. They have only stayed in a certain country such as Mauritius or Nigeria, but it makes sense to talk to people at home. I do not know whether it is because Africa is easy to understand, or because their IQ is too high.?. There is a superpower to peep into the leopard, no, it is 30 million square kilometers, 1/5 of the earth, 54 countries, 1 billion people, God knows what kind of brilliant people they are.

Madagascar baobab Boulevard.

to make fun of, I underestimate Africa even more than others. My only contact with Africa is limited to liberal arts and geography. I only remember a few islands and capitals. African history in high school is not the content of the college entrance examination. I threw it into the pile of paper a long time ago. In college, various industries have always been on a par with Europe and the United States. Africa is certainly not an object to learn from. It has become an experimental field for NGO, or used to criticize the image of victims of the West. Before I left for Africa, I was more concerned about whether my DHL box could bring all the necessities of life and whether the vaccine was comprehensive enough than to enrich my knowledge. After three months in Kenya, while enjoying the bright sun, clear blue sky, fragrant East African black tea, and the big eyes and charming smiles of black people, I complained to "foreigners" about their laziness, greed, unpunctuality, poor law and order and poor supplies. Everything seems to be taken for granted and filled with unease-if we think we have seen through Africa in a few months, what are we going to do with the rest of the time, continue to repeat the above drama to make the ones we like better and the ones we hate more annoying? or continue to lock yourself in a small circle, talk about the same topic over and over again, cut off from the real world we live in, and leave with some specialties in a few years' time?.

Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa on the border between Tanzania and Kenya.

I don't know if I stared at the big map of Africa in the office for too long, ashamed of the name of the national capital that I can never remember, or whether I couldn't chew and digest the historical and political problems of Africa. It may also be because I feel guilty about saying bad things in Chinese in front of black people. In short, after 100 days in Africa, Africa has changed from simple and easy to understand into difficult and complicated diseases. I also decided to come out of my customary speeches and judgments about Africa. Regain the mindset you had when you first started, stop wasting time, slowly experience what you encounter, and listen to other people's stories instead of blindly following your point of view. First of all, start by avoiding the use of "Africa" and "black". Just as the Chinese do not want to hear the locals make a silly distinction between China, Japan and South Korea, you call Somalis, Egyptians and Malagasy as Africans, and they are not willing to do so. let alone improve the superior South Africans.

Cape of good Hope, South Africa.

from here on, Africa has become more and more complex and difficult to see, and there are many contradictory things on this continent. If I can find a way out through self-reflection in 100 days, everything I know becomes confused in 500 days. I am not sure whether to visit a few more countries or live in the same place for a few years, which is the way to really understand Africa. Before coming to Africa, a senior said, "you want to go to more countries in Africa. In fact, after you have been there, you feel that it is all the same, and it is not necessary." But when I flew from the grasslands of East Africa to amazingly modern South Africa and into West Africa on the edge of the Sahara, it was deja vu, but it was so different that I sometimes didn't even know where I was.

the ancient city of Ouadan, Mauritania.

in AfricaRichard Dowden, a British journalist who has lived for more than 20 years, wrote in his book: Africa is the most humane place. Unlike most countries in the world, people here are familiar with each other and greet each other like brothers and sisters. Here, people can also feel the intimacy of the primitive family, as if they were one family in the world. The disaster in Africa seems to erase the humanity here in an instant. The terrible genocide in Rwanda, tribal antagonism that can rise to cannibalism, and the bad habits of circumcision are horrors that are difficult to replicate in the rest of the world. Perhaps, on this continent, there are the most instinctive good and evil of human beings. contrary to China, they are always shown in the most extreme form, which is inconceivable.

Mauritius.

this continent is home to the proudest people, and no one can be as proud of their country and nation as they are. In Ethiopia, every time you make a friend, he or she will say that we are the only country in Africa that has not been colonized; in Mauritania, people will ask: is China that good? If it's so good, why do you want to work for us? It's better for us; in Kenya, citizens have a great sense of justice, preaching to any foreigner they don't like that "you have to follow Kenyan rules in Kenya", whether on the streets or at the United Nations UNEP headquarters. However, the people here take it for granted, especially to foreigners, asking for money and gifts, whether you are strangers or friends, and the begging culture of West Africa is taken for granted in the context of religion. I used to think that self-esteem is based on self-reliance and self-reliance, but in Africa, they can be completely separate and unrelated, down to the civilian population and up to the head of state, without exception.

Slave Island, Senegal.

walking on the streets of Nairobi and Dakar, as if in Haidian District, you can see a university or university in a few steps. Universities in African capitals are varied, and any small face is impressively "Global School of Advanced Management" or "International leadership Business College". People have the opportunity to receive higher education; At the same time, there are the most stringent laws for foreign employers to raise wages for their employees every year, not to be dismissed at will, not to be deprived of holidays, insurance, subsidies, etc., and the penalties for labor disputes are also biased towards workers. With the most relaxed pace of work, Christianity, Islam and local holiday customs in most countries, these benefits seem to deserve the most positive work attitude and considerable progress, but this is not the case. It is a general consensus that Africans have the worst concept of time and the lowest efficiency. The problem of lack of talents and high illiteracy rate has not been solved. Wages are rising, prices are higher, and currency depreciation makes ordinary people helpless. Compared with staying in these superior working conditions, capable people have chosen to go abroad and never return, even the president is of dual nationality. Here, countless developed countries have brought generous investment, advanced projects and loose policies, instilling the most advanced concepts of "free market, democracy and human rights" all the time. However, it cannot be said that a stable and prosperous Africa has been reaped, with crises lurking in some places and fear of extremes. A South African writer once said, "the patterns of shit change year after year, and the same batch of flies fly every day." I'm afraid only a few people know what kind of African characteristics Africa should take, but the premise of implementation is that it can defeat the existing African characteristics. judging from the 50-year experience of the independence trend in the 1960s, this is not easy.

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Guinea-Bissau.

when you see children rolling in the mounds in front of thatched huts, teenagers barefoot kicking football on gravel, girls 13 or 14 with children on their backs, women eating and living with bald storks in garbage dumps, and large families sitting in the dark without access to electricity as soon as the sun goes down, you simply don't know how to survive in this situation. You've also been to a magnificent five-star hotel. I've seen Herm è s smiling hand in arm. I have heard of the incredibly rich people who wear and throw hundreds of expensive shirts a year. They all exist on the same continent, in the same country, or even on the same street. They are all Africans born here. This kind of transformation is sometimes so fast that it is too late to think, even a little numb. Outsiders only see the poverty of Africa, and few people see that those abnormally rich, even poor and chaotic, are gradually chewed by others. It seems that nothing has happened here, and it is not a pity to forget.

Kenya Dandora dump.

We are born in a world of contradictions. If there are more problems, we will no longer make a fuss. Africa is like a person with a lot of debts. Many people have tried to understand and found that there are too many countries, ethnic tribes are more and more complex, leaders change like lanterns, a new party on the left, a new armed force on the right, people's names are even more complicated, and they want to see through the three generations of their ancestors and grandchildren. When you really look at the photos, you can't tell them apart, not to mention religion, language, historical evolution, and foreign interference. Let's just dabble. So Africa has become like this, people do not like to hear complicated stories, so they throw in shocking and scary pictures, with a few words of summary. Perhaps in today's highly developed Internet, on a flattened earth, Africa is the last lucky person. It has not become so accessible, and there are not so many pictures and strategies for people to imagine. Just like having the Congo jungle, the last piece of land that mankind has not fully reached on earth, it is still a virgin land that needs to be reclaimed urgently, with not only inaccessible magnificent scenery, but also outstanding political and social issues. Waiting for the real adventurer to arrive.