"How's it going in Africa?"

My phone conversations with friends and family frequently start like this, "Hey! How's it going in Africa?!" To be honest, this question always makes me laugh because, quite frankly, I wouldn't know.

I don't live IN "Africa," I live ON Africa... I live in Lesotho. For clarifications sake, Africa is a continent, not a country and it's HUGE! So much so, that traditional maps, like the Mercator Projection, do it no justice. Africa is typically depicted as being many times smaller than it really is, in relation to other countries. (The very interesting map link here may start to give you an idea of how BIG a continent it really is...
http://knowmore.washingtonpost.com/2013/10/27/africa-is-much-much-bigger-than-you-think/)

And it's size doesn't even begin to describe the incredible geographic, cultural, natural, and historical diversity found across this beautiful, but frightfully misunderstood continent. There are LITERALLY countless cultures and languages... An unimaginable plethora of music, dance, and storytelling traditions. My Basotho neighbors in Lesotho have about as much in common with the !Kung! of Namibia as I have with Pacific Islanders in Samoa. They live in different climates; they eat different foods; they have a different language; celebrate marriage, life, and death in different ways; and have entirely disparate belief systems and ways of viewing the world... There is no such thing as a static and wholly knowable "Africa."

So you can imagine how comical I find the turn of phrase, "How's it going in Africa?" It's a slip of the tongue. An unintentional slight that groups millions of diverse peoples into one melting pot. But it's a misconception consistently perpetuated by the western world, and it is unjust. It doesn't do justice to the beauty of people or the diversity of culture. It's a slight to the people of Lesotho, who fought long and hard to win their independence and maintain their cultural identity amidst the overwhelming influence of so many othercultures in South Africa. They deserve to be respected and appreciated as a unique and autonomous culture and government...

So now when people ask me, "How's it going in Africa?" I answer, with a knowing smile, "I wouldn't know... I live in Lesotho." :)

With Love from LESOTHO... -Mary E.