Linn’s Year Ablog

I keep finding myself making comparisons between South Africa and the only other African country in which I’ve lived, Senegal. So instead of explaining them to uninterested hostel-mates, I thought I would convert these comparisons into analogies, and write them up as…

A list of wild, semi-truthful generalizations!

• …As Europe Is to America.
  Row houses on narrow streets with bread stands and butchers at the corner, versus single-story stucco houses with grassy backyards, a fifteen-minute SUV ride from the mall.
• …As My German Peasant Ancestors Might Have Been to the Carnival in Rio.
  Hospitable to obsession but stoney-faced at even the most joyous public occasions, versus smiley, uninhibited and often unconditionally optimistic. My Senegalese host brother once gave me a talking-to about laughing and smiling too much in public. People will think I’m a con-man or a thief, he said. At the tip of the continent, however, a smile, a chuckle and a thumbs-up go a long, long way toward friendship.
• …As Hometown Buffet Is to Black Angus.
  A mixture of delicious, albeit less-than-healthy, dishes floating in oil, versus lots of delicious, albeit less-than-healthy, red meat with some iceberg lettuce for garnish.
• …As Chinatown Is to Mid-Town.
  In city-centers: cheap eats, versus budget-busting hot-dogs.
• …As Central Florida Is to South Central.
  Criminals who would try to rob a store with a palm frond, versus criminals who would kill an elderly woman for her cell phone.
• …As Bob Jones University Is to Hampshire College.
  Social conservatism, versus social liberalism, at least on some legal issues. In Senegal, for example, it would be tough to find people who admit that homosexuality exists in their country. SA’s 1994 constitution, meanwhile, was the first to explicitly outlaw sexual orientation discrimination, and the country became the world’s fifth to legalize gay marriage three years ago.