One of my high school friends, Chris, works quite a bit in Africa. Recently, he posted this graphic on his facebook page. In the thieving, sharing spirit of the world wide web, I've grabbed it to post here (it does have the original source listed). Interesting, eh?
Another 'neighborhood product' from southern Iowa, Amy, did a Fulbright stint in Malawi earlier this year. She has a great post and follow-up about people confused about where the "capital of Africa" is... The general point is that Americans don't know much about Africa. Now, be honest and admit it...when we told you we were coming to Namibia, you didn't know where it was did you? Well, until a few years ago, neither did we.
Well, after a year in Namibia, we probably don't know all there is to know about Namibia, much less the rest of Africa. But, we do know that Africa is not a country. And, now you know how big Africa is.
It is not a bad idea to learn more about Africa. China is investing strongly in many African countries as there are raw materials to be had. Namibia, for example, is bound to become one of the largest uranium exporters in the near future. There are many interesting books about the current "neocolonialism" or re-colonization of Africa. A fellow blogger in Namibia this year, Amanda, has a couple of good blogs (here and here) about people and NGO's coming to Africa. In fact, I commented on the topic myself, once. The future of Africa is up for grabs, it appears. Stay tuned.
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