Books or Websites on Travel to Africa?

[suzubeane]

I'm looking for book/site recs for travel to Africa that are more about people and culture and less about sight-seeing.

My 17 year-old son is going to be traveling to Africa for 10 days this summer. He spends part of every summer in Italy living with his paternal grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. One of his aunts is very involved in the Church, and is going to Kenya and Uganda for a conference; she is taking my son and another nephew, who is the same age.

My son is very well-traveled and very self-aware for a 17 year-old. (Spending summers in Europe has contributed to that, I'm sure.) But he's not accustom to traveling in developing countries, and he's not accustom to not knowing the language or being able to figure out the customs. He is a tall, white, light-haired, blue-eyed boy, and his aunt has already told him that some of the people he encounters will never have seen anyone who looks like him.

His cousin is far less comfortable in places that are foreign to him. (The one time he came to the U.S. - he CLUNG to my son for dear life!) So if they are left to their own devices, my son will definitely be the leader of the two of them.

To put it bluntly, I am petrified for his safety. He's got a very casual attitude about the whole thing, and I fear that he's underestimating the cultural differences and expectations. I think both of us have some research to do!

Ideas anyone?

[wander_woman]

Hi Suzubeane. How wonderful that your son is getting to do this! I'm sure it'll be an incredible experience for him.

I've read a lot of book about Africa, but not that many that are specifically about Kenya/Uganda. I think a lot of the books about east Africa will deal with similar issues to what your son will encounter. Here are some ideas for where to start:

Fiction:
- The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver: My favorite novel about Africa. It's set in the Congo, but the themes (e.g. lingering effects of colonialism, missionary work, etc.) will be applicable to Kenya and Uganda.
- Acts of Faith, by Philip Caputo: Set mainly in Somalia and Sudan, with some action taking place in Kenya. Interesting take on tribal conflict in the region. Some info about Kenya's various tribes.
- The Constant Gardener, by John le Carre: Set in modern-day Nairobi. I wasn't particularly fond of the book, but lots of people like it.
- Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe: Classic book about the Ibo tribe in Nigeria.
- There's always the classics of (white) African literature, Out of Africa and Heart of Darkness.

Nonfiction:
- King Leopold's Ghost, by Adam Hochschild: Wonderful book about the Belgian colonization of the Congo.
- A friend recently recommended I Laugh So I Won't Cry: Kenya's Women Tell The Story Of Their Lives, by Helena Halperin. I haven't read it, but it sounds interesting. And it's written from the perspective of actual black Kenyans (unfortunately, most books about the region seem to be written by Europeans or white Africans).

Movies:
- I recently saw The Masai Princess, a German movie about a Swiss woman who marries a Masai warrior. It provides an interesting look into the life of the Masai, a tribe that your son will almost certainly encounter in Kenya [I believe it's based on a book]
- Nowhere in Africa: German movie about a family that escapes the Holocaust by moving to Kenya. More about living in the bush than about culture, but still quite interesting.
- Totsi is a new movie out of South Africa, set in Soweto. Gives a taste of life in South Africa's townships, which I would think would be similar in many ways to life in Nairobi's slums.
- And of course, The Constant Gardener and Out of Africa.
- You may be able to rent some National Geographic documentaries about tribes in Kenya or Uganda.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Sorry that most of the books aren't really about the tribes or customs your son will encounter in Kenya/Uganda. But they may be a good place to start. Here's a link to an Amazon list about Africa. I haven't read any of this guy's suggestions, but they may be useful: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-/26N233LQZ8XWK/ref=2/103-4390324-1516665

I'd also recommend that your son learn some Swahili. Swahili is an extremely easy language to learn. After one week in Tanzania, I knew enough words to put together basic sentences. Everyone in Nairobi speaks English, but people outside of Nairobi will really appreciate any attempts to speak their language. Your son can probably learn some basic words and phrases just off the internet, or from a Swahili phrasebook.

For a guidebook, I liked Lonely Planet's East Africa guide. It's more about the sights, obviously, but there's a decent history and culture section at the beginning.

I wouldn't worry too much about his security (I know, easier said than done!). My DH and I spent 2 months traveling around Africa (in east Africa, we were in Tanzania, Kenya, and Rwanda) this past spring and never had a single problem. We took only local busses, stayed in cheap hostels, and tried to get off the tourist path as much as possible. Everyone we met was extremely friendly and helpful. Nairobi will be the most dangerous place he'll visit. It's just dangerous in the sense of any big city and the same precautions apply -- don't walk alone after dark, don't flash any money or electronics, keep all documents and money in a money belt, etc. If he's going for a conference, I doubt he'll really encounter people that have never seen a white person before. You have to get *very* far off the beaten path to meet people that haven't yet encountered white people. But he will probably see some very interesting cultures. And he will probably meet people who will be fascinated by his light skin and hair. He shouldn't be too freaked out if people try to touch him, touch his hair, etc.

One other suggestion -- you might want to post your question on the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree message boards. There are lots of Africa "experts" on there.

Hope that helps a bit. Let me know if you have any other questions. I'm curious to hear how it all works out for him!

[suzubeane]

THANK YOU so much for taking the time to post all of that! Unfortunately, he is leaving for Italy this afternoon, so some of it I won't be able act on; he'll be in Italy until the beginning of August, though, so I can still e-mail and send him stuff until he goes to Africa

I doubt he'll read the fiction; he's not a fiction fan and he already had a summer reading list to conquer. However, I LOVE Barbara Kingsolver (even saw her perform once in the Rock Bottom Remainders!) so I will take your rec on the Poisonwood Bible myself. :).

FWIW, my son and his cousin are not attending a conference; only their aunt is. I'm not sure what they are expected to do while she is busy. Also her involvement in these things is really at the grassroots, volunteer coordination level, so "conference" might not be right way to describe what she's doing there. They may be far off the beaten path enough to encounter people who haven't seen fair skin and light eyes - I think I need to find out more from my SIL. (Technically former SIL.)

Actually, after I get more info, I will take your suggestion and post to Lonely Planet; Then I can send the link to my son who can read or print stuff for reading while traveling between Italy and Africa.

Thanks so much again!

[tlew12778]

Honestly, when I was there (in S. Africa and Mozambique) the people off the beaten path were nicer and more personal that the people in the bigger cities. It was more of a natural curiosity about each other's cultures. The best thing ever, IMO, was guided tours by locals. I barely even looked at my guide books. The guide books have a lot of practical advice that you will find in any guide book (what areas to avoid in cities, how to not get ripped off (hopefully), etc.)... but the local guides told me things about the local culture that no guide book would have been able to tell me.