African Diversity - What I See Is What You Get

For the past couple of weeks, I focused my blog topics on African Diversity based on several recent trips...from Kano to the Eleko Beach Fishing Village to Cape Town. Now I must make a confession...all is not as it seems. The most poignant thing I've learned about diversity and culture during my travels is that you cannot possibly grasp, in totality or truth, the reality of a particular place or culture during a vacation.

Case in point...until our last day in Cairo, I created an image of the city that was a far cry from the comforts of back home. A city that seemed much like Lagos (busy, crowded, a bit "third world") yet it still portrayed an "exotic" feel to me that was unlike Lagos or the United States. But on our last day the falsity of my mere glimpse of Cairo came full focus.

Due to a hotel mix up and end-of-trip exhaustion, we headed out of the city confines early and grabbed dinner close to the airport. A local Cairo restaurant guide indicated there was an On the Border in the Cairo suburbs and just a few miles from the airport. The existence of an On the Border in Cairo was not too surprising; after all, we had seen American food chains speckled in the tourist areas of the city. But the sight we saw when the cab pulled up to our destination blew our mind!

On the Border was housed in a two tower, multi-level building complex that put most American malls to shame. Named "Citystars," this mega-mall accommadated stores such as FCUK, Levi's, and every athletic appareal establishment you could think of (Puma, Adidas, Nike, etc.). And...it was overrun with teenagers! Just like teens and tweens back home, the mall seemed to be the local hangout. Other than the multitudes of scarf-covered heads, this could have been any suburban mall in the United States. So I guess Cairo was more like home than I thought.

As I found out first hand in Cairo, often our perceptions of other cultures, countries, and ways of life are shaped by what little we see and encounter during holiday. Even now, having lived in Lagos for five months, I know I still have much to learn and in some ways am sheltered from the reality of Lagos living. So I ask all of you to take what I say with a grain of salt; know that what I see and what I write is based on my own perceptions and limited experiences; and go out and see for yourself, create your own perceptions, and challenge mine.

(For those of you trying to figure out which Citystars establishments are pictured above, here are your answers: (1) Starbucks (Yep, even in Cairo); (2) Chile's; (3) Macaroni Grill; (4) Toys R Us; (5) On the Border; and, (6) Duh...