Africa is a continent

As you can see in the picture above, Africa is a continent.  I know you all know that, but do you really understand that fact?

Today a friend posted something on Facebook that referred to the temperature in Africa.  It was an innocent post about her concern for her dad having a rough time in hot weather.  I read her post that it was 100 degrees in Africa today, and got slightly worked up.  I admit I was in the wrong to put something snippy on her wall asking what the weather is in North America today, since it's a small continent and probably has just one temperature for the whole thing.  After all, Yukon Territory/Yucatan Peninsula sound similar, so are probably about the same temperature, right?

I find it to be a sad commentary on the American education system (I'll let my European, Aussie, and Canadian friends off the hook on this one, as these problems happen a lot more often with American friends) that I'm often asked things like, "So you're translating the Bible into African?" and "What do Africans eat?"  Do they not teach people in school that Africa is a continent and has more countries in it than any other continent in the world?!  And even in the media, I'll see things like, "Many places around the world have been involved in this (random something), such as Russia, Germany, Malaysia, Canada, and Africa."  Come again?  Since when do people say "Europe" like it's all one blob of a personality-less country with just one culture and language?  I think it comes down to things like that in history classes we learn about all the countries in Europe, we read historical fiction set in various countries there, we know that our ancestors spoke one of the languages from there.  When it comes to Africa, not a whole lot appears in textbooks (excepting Ancient Egypt).

So, please excuse me if I get a little annoyed the next time someone says something like, "Oh, you're in Africa - my cousin is going to Africa next month!  Do you think you'll see her?" or "It must be so hot and dry there - I saw a picture of Africa in National Geographic and that desert looked miserable!"  If someone shows a small sign of awareness by asking me something more like, "I heard there is some unrest in Nigeria; does that affect Tanzania?" then I'll be a lot more polite and will explain that Nigeria is further away from me than Chicago is from Seattle and four countries are between the two.

It's okay if you're unsure of some details about things here.  It's not all that easy to find good information, and I understand that it's probably not one of your primary interests in life.  But I will take this moment to teach you one easy thing that will you put you in good stead: Africa is a continent.  It has ~54 countries and over 2000 people groups.  The next time you meet someone who has lived on this beautiful continent, I advise you to not ask him/her, "So, how's Africa?"