When most people think of Africa, images of vivid wars or lively markets frequently come to mind.  The diversities of the 54 countries (not including 2 disputed countries and 8 European territories) that comprise the continent and its islets are hard to describe in sum. Generalizations and stereotypes are easy to come by, yet nuances are difficult to translate. Somehow a vast expanse becomes one great monolith, for sheer lack of better words.

Suffice it to say that this short time living in southern Africa has left me with filtered impressions.  As yet, I’m unsure if my thoughts are muted by having been here before, or having been to the continent before, or having been to places that remind me of the continent many times before. Maybe my thoughts are tainted by the lack of full belonging to the many communities I’m forced to straddle in this space. And then again, it could also be that the fog of jet lag hasn’t yet lifted.  Nevertheless, my time here has been something like the images below: Lively and ambiguous. Playful and mundane. Black and white.