When many people think about the beauty of Africa many people will think, Madagascar. And because I am a nature lover, Africa is definitely a continent for exploration. With so many different species and wildlife dominant from coast to coast, Africa’s wildlife is the sight to see. Africa is home to the African Bush elephant which is the largest living land mammal and the second tallest after the giraffe. Now that’s definitely something I won’t see at the Philadelphia Zoo! Africa is home to vast deserts, tropical rain forests, rugged mountains, and fertile grasslands. It’s abundance in these is unsurpassed in any other continent. Another beautiful sight in this immense continent are Mount Kilimanjaro and Lake Victoria. Mount Kilimanjaro is the largest mountain in Africa while Lake Victoria is the largest lake.
While we could spend the entire time talking about the natural beauty of Africa, there is nothing more beautiful about a place than its people. Unlike popular belief not all people in Africa share the same language or culture. Africa is home to thousands of tongues and many different cultures. Focusing on my country Sierra Leone, although things lie corruption have hindered the country’s development this does not prevent its people for having a sense of pride for who they are. Sierra Leoneans enjoy sports like many societies. Specifically, they enjoy the sport of soccer. As a matter of fact, Sierra Leone is home to a champion national soccer team.
In terms of geography, Sierra Leone is very small compared to other countries in Africa. It can be compared to the size of North Carolina, but smaller. Unlike our four seasons, weather in this western country is determined by two seasons. From months May to November, it is rainy, the rest of the year are their dry months. As mentioned before Africa is home to many different languages and cultures and Sierra Leone is no exception. It has been reported that fifteen to twenty different ethnicities reside in Sierra Leone. Impressive right! On top of that, unlike popular belief, not everything is rural in Africa. About thirty six percent of Sierra Leoneans live in urban areas. Regardless of their differences, like English is to America, Franca krio is the national language that unites the people of Sierra Leone.
Prior to taking this class, I was very oblivious to the society that lived east of us. Like many, I was brainwashed by images and news reports that barely did any justice to the actual situation of a continent like Africa. Due to its horrific past and major contributor to the slave trade, Africa has been deprived of many opportunities of progression and development, especially focusing on the west of the continent. These countries, like Sierra Leone, prime location between the eastern and western worlds made it a victim to the capitalism inspired minds of colonists. Regardless, the people of Sierra Leone many which live on less than two dollars a day have realized the importance of other things in contrast to the rest of the world’s materialistic preference. They show the importance of family and being humble and live every day still with a sense of pride. This is extremely telling and if more people appreciated the important things in life could possibly help end the suffering in other humans’ lives.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/African_Bush_Elephant