Top 20 Silly Questions Non-Africans Ask About Africa Overseas.
The Top 20 Silly Questions Non-Africans Ask About Africa Overseas- South Africa as Case Study.
Myths
and stereotypes about Africa and its people continue to thrive in
some countries. We count down the top 20 actual questions foreigners
have asked South Africans.
Although our country has been welcomed back to an increasingly
globalised world after the end of apartheid, some foreigners continue to
harbour romantic ideas about life in Africa.
Certainly, one would not expect anyone outside South Africa’s borders
to have an in-depth knowledge of the country or its history, but it’s
surprising how many crazy myths and stereotypes about Africa and its
people continue to thrive.
Not even the publicity surrounding Nelson Mandela
and his involvement in the anti-apartheid struggle have succeeded in
enlightening some people about the multiracial nature of SA society.
As a result, South Africans living or travelling abroad often face
some ridiculous questions. We count down the top 20 actual questions our
readers have been asked about their homeland:
20. Do you have the internet, phones, roads, cars, shops, schools, money in South Africa?.
19. Do you own a gun?.
18. Do you have lions in your garden?.
17. Do you ride around on elephants?.
16. Why would you want to come here (UK, USA, etc)?.
15. Can you see Kilimanjaro from your house?.
14. Oh you’re from Johannesburg – do you know my friend Peter in Nairobi?.
13. How many wives does your husband have?.
12. How does it feel to wear clothes?.
11. Have you ever had Aids?.
10. Which tribe do you belong to?.
9. So you’re down next to Australia, right?.
8. Do you speak African?.
7. Did you have a slave in South Africa?.
6. But you don’t have a South African accent? (not understanding that there are a lot of different accents)
5. I know that you lived in South Africa but where were you born? You must have been born somewhere else.
4. How did you learn to speak English?
3. Which country in South Africa are you from?
2. Are you black?
1. Why are you white?
Disclaimer: This article is not meant to poke
fun at others’ ignorance but is simply a light-hearted take on something
we’ve no doubt all experienced. What’s encouraging is that people are
curious enough to ask. While it’s tempting to respond with sarcasm (or
fiction), giving an honest answer will ultimately help to show what
South Africa is really like. Just don’t be a whingeing expat, please!
Have you faced any of these questions before? What’s the most
ridiculous question you’ve been asked about South Africa? Let us know
below.
Below are hilarious replies Africans gave to the questions. (In case you're a non-African reading this, please note that most of the answers by the Africans are pure joke as they must have found the questions extremely very silly but funny). We Africans do have everything you have. Many Africans are even more trendier than most Americans and Europeans.
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99% of them just have to ask if I am from Australia. If I say no, they say “New Zealand?” And then “South Africa?”
“Oh yes, you sounded like you’re from down South over there, with the twang in your voice.”
“Why would you live over here?”
“Are you enjoying your holiday”
“What do you think about the Oscar Pistorius case?”
“Are you sad that Nelson Mandela died?”
It gets so irritating, that I want to move away, back to London…
It really leads me to judge their intelligence when they know so little about the world, even just the English-speaking world and such as lack of geographical knowledge. Education over here is hugely over-rated.
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Your parents must have been missionaries
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I tell about my pet elephant and the fact that we only have gravel roads and of course, the lions, who ate most of my family.
Don’t understand, with the Soccer World cup and all the other events that make international news, how the people can still ask such stupid questions?
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Some fellow saffers have also had ‘are you from Australia?’
Besides the ‘ u don’t sound South African’ and the puzzled look after I say that I am ‘South African’ with me clearly looking of Indian race ‘ but wher are you originally from?’ To which I answer ‘ from South Africa ‘ , then I get ‘ were you born ther?’ And I reply ‘ yes and so was my great great grandfather born in SA’, and the puzzled look gets more puzzled:)
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“Why did the Springboks poison the All Blacks at the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final??? Was that the only way they could win? “
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Can I walk in the Kruger Park?
Will the lions be locked up in the Kruger Park because I am scared of them?
What time is the best for seeing lions?
When I returned to the UK after 8 years here, my father wanted to know why I wasn’t black.
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“Afrikaans? That’s like… uh… SWAHILI isn’t it?”
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Me:Yes we do
Ahhh i bet you don’t have cheddar cheese he say.
Face in hand
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Maria
well, technically you live in the Republic of South Africa. ‘South Africa’ is a misnomer.
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It drives me nuts that people think that Africa is a country!!! You hear it on TV all the time…
“I’ve been to Paris, London, Sydney and AFRICAâ€
Africa is a continent people, wake up!
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If that was the point he was trying to make then fair game.
OTOH if the dude’s a racist, maybe you should have m***d him.
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Great article, thanks.
Having been in email contact with a host family in the US,I was asked if I had Internet. Also been asked if I live in a hut, are there wild animals in my garden, do we have cars, are there any roads… and questions from those who have clearly heard negative report from expats, I’ve been asked if it’s safe to return home, won’t I get shot, and plenty of advice given for me to never return because of the violence that awaits me.Source: The South AfricanAfricason is a die-hard believer in Africa.
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– Do you have white people in SA? (I’m white)
– Do you like having Mugabe as president?
– Do you have trouble with tigers and kangaroos?
(lions I understand, but tigers & kangaroos?!)