Africa - cultural exchange

It never ceases to amaze me with such ignorant blanket statements as your last comment! You have the audacity to classify "all white neighborhoods as the same". Unbelieveable! :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

 

shy,

didn't we say something in another post about BMJ acting like a 15yr old and he didn't know why?.....

i think he just proved out point...once again. :wink:

 

Yes superchick- immaturity at it's finest! It was a great post til he got to the end! Then had to show his ass!

 

Your opinions of things will always be otherwise to mine because God knows we are two completely different people living completely different lives....and God forbid... I don't know all there is to know about anything in this world,,,, but from what I've witnessed with my own two eyes......is that White people(the ones i know) dont care about anything but themselves. Ok lemme explain. They will call the cops if they see you getting beat in the streets, but i doubt most of them will help you (again,,,,i said MOST)

Where as many of us black african people are more emotional and impulsive and do things without thinking,,like beating the shit out of some stranger on the street because he's mistreating his wife.....the majority of white people will either call the cops or press the acceleration paddle and drive on...

Now ofcourse im not sayin every single white community is like that, but i thought you were smart enough to notice that i was refering to MY all white commuinity and the communities ive KNOWN livin here in Canada,,,,

Now please accept my post for what it is,,,,,,which is priomarily for the love and apprceciation of black women. Who unlike most white women,, are beautiful inside and out,,,,

cheers

 

LOL.....i think youre an idiot.....how exactly was anything i said resembling that of a 15 year old??..

Maybe i should have said "most white neighborhoods" in my final statement...but nothing in that post is immature......

 

wow....mature and polite.

:roll:

 

U mean that like "mature and polite" Lol

 

:lol: My man is Nigerian and that post really made me laugh...very accurate.

Could apply equally well to my ex and his family (who are Ghanaian)!

Especially the part about the family meet ups and being called 'sister', 'auntie' etc.

 

:smt023

 

My experience

I seem to have an easy time making friendships with African women (I'm a WW). Last weekend I was at a 'house party' with a Zambian female friend and we all ended up cooking together and dancing in the living room. Fortunately, Atlanta has a relatively large African population.

I had a wonderful friendship w/ a Senegalese man of Pulaar heritage. I love W. African music although I don't understand the languages. Esp. like Baaba Maal, Ismael Lo, some of the Malian music, etc. Music from the south of Africa is great too!

The African men I have met have been very sweet, respectful, eager to share info on their country, etc. They are not into the thug culture at all. Just hardworking guys trying to make it.... and they appreciate my curiousity and basic knowledge of their individual countries.

 

I was married to a Malian for three years and I'm afraid I wasn't happy with the experience. Strictly culturally, yes I became exposed to a lot of new interesting things - music, clothes, food, all that. I fell in love with the music of Oumou Sangare, Salif Keita, Mah Kouyate, other griot singers. I fell in love with zouk music, which is popular in Africa. I like Ismael Lo too. I admired the beautiful outfits and, boy, did I love the food. But the main thing was that relationshipwise he always expected me to put myself last. He was very selfish. As far as he was concerned, my job was making him happy but he didn't have to return the favor. I ended the relationship after five years together and I wish I did it sooner. The way I see it, my twenties went to hell. :evil:

But I won't say that all African men are like that. Even some of his friends were a lot nicer than he was, nicer in general and nicer to women. One of his friends interfered when my husband got angry with me and locked me out of our bedroom even though I had to go to work the next day and my purse and all were in the bedroom. I kept crying and knocking on the door but he didn't give a f*ck. So his friend made him open the door. (His friends shared the apartment.)

So I won't generalize. Some African men are wonderful, outstanding men.

 

Yeah, as with everything - there is good and bad in it all.

I don't doubt that African and western culture is very different, and often not the same...which of course makes things simultaneously difficult and interesting.

But, I think the benefits are worth the extra effort and that's why I started this thread. It's not the same to date a "black guy" as it is to date a "black african guy".

And BMJ - i understand what you're saying about white neighbourhoods. My BF said the same thing. I will give you the same response that I gave him. What is wrong with that? I like not knowing my neighbours. I don't want to know anything about these people. I have friends who I care about and they're my friends through mutual interests. The chances of people in my neighbourhood happening to be the kind of people I want to spend a lot of time with is really low...I have friends all over the city. I spend the least amount of time in my neighbourhood. I will help a neighbour the same as I would help anyone in the street - be a good samaritan and all that - but I don't want to be any more friendly than necessary.

You're looking at a white neighbourhood from an african perspective, and I can see why you would think that. On the other foot - nothing would irritate me more than anyone and everyone in my street knowing each other's business and hanging around all the time. I prefer the way my life is structured. I am not sure that I could really survive for a long time in a full-on african community. People would think I am rude, because I would not want to see them that often. I like solitude and peace.

The point is - I can learn the difference, understand and appreciate the difference...and it (hopefully) makes me a better person for opening my eyes, mind and heart to these things.

And I understand that it is his culture and if I love him, I love the things that come with him - so as he has and will do for, I will make sacrifices for him if and when the time comes.

Here are some more things I love:

* Africans don't behave like AA (mostly) (sorry AA men - for the most part, just doesn't do it to me - no offence intended)
* they're often multi-lingual which is such a great thing (in my mind - really impressive! )
* they love kids and are totally comfortable around them (I do not and am not)
* they know they are different and maybe "behind" in their thinking on somethings and they're proud of it (I'm specifically thinking of a friend who has some dubious opinions about women in an ok way, and knows that and is proud of it and just wants a black wife and kids - and I was really touched by his humble pride).

There are of course things that I don't like - but this is a positive thread...I wanted to get some african love happening on here.!

 

Bump^^

 

FEHG,had you been meeting African guys in Oz? If so what is your opinion and are you planning to visit the country of your future boyfriend?

 

Here's Koffi Olomide, one of the most famous and successful African Musician, and he is from the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa



http://www.panafricanallstars.com/biography/kofiolomide.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koffi_Olomide

Here's a song called Coucou, arguably his biggest hit.

[YOUTUBE]BP9vRBYdsrI [/YOUTUBE]


[YOUTUBE]IvcsnlzY1Z4[/YOUTUBE]

Then there's also Papa Wemba, another famous Congolese Musician, who became famous for popularizing La Sape, the art of "dressing nicely".


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papa_Wemba

[YOUTUBE]KT2D1SZMGcw[/YOUTUBE]


http://lasape.com/en/

 

Regarding different languages and accent, the only African language I can speak fluently is Lingala. I can say a few words in Swahili and Kikongo.

Lingala is a Bantu language spoken throughout the northwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa) and a large part of the Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), as well as to some degree in Angola and the Central African Republic, Gabon and even Cameroon.

This what Lingala would sound like if it was spoken by a Musician using slang/colloquialism/ etc
[YOUTUBE]lbs4tbsUPAY[/YOUTUBE]

Of course educated people such our former President, Mobutu who is featured in my avatar, and Belgian missionary priests speak a more formal and classical lingala.

My accent could be defined as Central African, though it has sometimes the slightest trace of a Belgian French accent. I was teased a lot as child in Zaire because people said I spoke like a mundele, meaning white person. Not sounding African enough or authentic is pejorative because it implies assimilation and cultural alienation, so I made every effort I could to shed that Western European French accent and to sound more African

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swahili_language

Here's what Swahili would sound like. This is the very famous song Malaika, which is the Swahili word for Angel, sung by Harry Bellafonte and the late Miriam Makeba

[YOUTUBE]q8jxALtWGVQ[/YOUTUBE]

Yes, of course African culture is completely different than Western culture---though there's an undeniable Western influence in almost all African cultures.
A good example of Central African culture compared to Western culture will be the concept of Family. In my country, we have la famille elargie or the stretched family. So the concept of immediate family doesn't really exist as in in the West were people are more individualistic.

Hospitality and respect to the elders are followed religiously. Always expect to be offered food or drinks when you visit a Congolese friend or even acquaintance of yours, and do not refuse on pain of offending your host.

There's indeed an African pride though it's very important to understand that compared to blacks in the Western hemisphere, especially those here in the US, Africans identify themselves by nationality and not by the color of their skin, i.e., Nigerians, Ugandans, Zambians, Ethiopians. And when don't identify by their nationality, they indentify each other by their tribes or ethnicity i.e Hutus and Tutsis, Yoruba, Igbo and Haussa etc and that usually creates problem like in Rwanda and Nigeria for instance.

Africans are difficult to categorize racially, as, strictly speaking, Arabs in North African states such as Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Algeria are also Africans, although they identify themselves by nationality (Moroccan, Algerian, Egyptian, etc.), and not by race.

Another dimension to the African identity and to put the cultural diversities in perspective would be to explain that many Africans are from Francophone Africa, coming from countries such as Gabon, Mali, Senegal, Chad, Zaire, Cote D'Ivoire, Cameroon, etc., fluent in French and in their own national languages. To add further to the complexity of the real African identity, Africans in the former Portuguese colonies of Angola & Mozambique on the western and eastern coasts of Southern Africa are also fluent in Portuguese, having been ruled by Portugal for over 400 years. Of course, the rest of Sub-saharan Africa is Anglophone, Arabic speaking and even Spanish for Equatorial Guinea.

 

if africa has so much "love", why some parts are full of tribal warfare and decadence?

 

Haha. Wow. This is a blast from the past.
But, probably timely also.

Actually, I have since broken up with my ex, Mr Zim - probably about 6+ months ago. I have only arrived home less than 2 months ago.

Soulthinker - Regardless of who I was dating, I would visit their country, if they were foreign. I am interested in everything, and I think it is respectful to try and see, understand and at least like their home. This is very important to me. I actually probably will visit Zimbabwe, even though I am no longer dating Mr Zim, because I am still in contact with him and family members. A contact is a contact, after all...

It is difficult to meet African men, because I don't "hang" at the same places, and unless you're "in" a culture here, you are unlikely to meet people. So, since my ex and I have broken up, I am no longer hanging with Zimbo's. I just look from afar on the bus. haha. I work in a professional environment and since most "black men" (of african decent) are refugees or international students, they are not in my environment.

I love the multi-lingual nature of countries. I think language is such an interesting thing and I am very annoyed at my country, parents and self that I never learnt another language...It is something I intend to rectify. I learnt a little Shona while I was with Mr Zim, and since many of the Bantu languages seem to follow a similar structure, I feel as though I could understand basic things fairly easily in other countries. I enjoy that African languages are entirely different. This is an obvious fact, but as an English speaking person learning French or German is a little boring, as there are similarities. Wheras, African languages test my mind more.

I know Koffi Olomide well. He seems to be popular all over southern African. He is quite good.

My ex always identifies himself by Country and tribe, for sure. even tribe over country...because he's Shona, and that tribe covers western Mozambique and also southern Zambia...it's language also. Very interesting. Although, i think tribal lines are being blurred somewhat, at least in Zim. ?!?!

I learnt many things about both his culture and myself, while we were together. I enjoyed that experience and I felt as though it has enriched me not only at the time, but for life. Despite the fact that things did not work out between us, I like to look on the bright side, and I am happy that we met.

All in all, I would enjoy living in Africa for a while and being in the actual culture. I can't ever be African, and I don't know that I would choose to be even if I could, as there were many things that frustrated me about it also (only because of the way I view the world, due to my upbrining and my own culture)....but, there are many things to be learnt....

I think I'll leave it there.

I definitely still think this board is way too USA-centric....so would encourage the African men to share your culture with us. There's a whole other continent of beautiful Black men out there....let us know all about what makes you african?

 

Why do people kill each other anywhere?
People are people.

 

That statement shows some ignorance he isn't the brightest BM in the U S is he ? Americans see the world thru their TV there is hardly any positive images/news from the continent. I was gonna suggest you to expand your knowledge and expand your horizons don't limit yourself only to learning about A but AA as well. keeping an open mind is good.