Many people may wonder why
it may be necessary to start a blog of this nature. Well, about five years ago,
many Ghanaian friends I had were wondering why anyone would learn to speak a language
as strange and unfamiliar as Chinese. But now, Chinese classes in University of
Ghana have over 100 students! Indeed, times have changed... I therefore count
myself lucky to have been part of the pioneer
class of 2008 for the learning of the Chinese
language in the University of Ghana. I realize now that I have been cleansed of some preconceived
ideas that I had gathered over time, in my quest to find out more about one "mysterious
phenomenon" - the Asians.
As at age 9, when I had met
some American teenagers, and realized that they were different in some ways
from those I was used to, (not to talk of my amazement at seeing "blue eyes"
for the first time) - I definitely did
not think that there were any more surprises in terms of the human race, till I
discovered that there were the Chinese! Through a TV series based on one of the
great classical novels of Chinese Literature, written in the 16th century
during the Ming Dynasty, entitled, "Journey to the West", I first
came across these peculiar people who to my 9 year old mind, obviously lived
somewhere far away from the earth, made little funny noises as they spoke, and looked
so much alike that a hundred of them in
one place could get you confused (that is if you had to make one out).I thought
to myself, that the language they spoke was so complicated that the only way
they could interpret it was by drawing and the drawing in itself was so bizarre
that they were the only ones who could understand them!. Like many others, any
time I observed a huge chunk of Chinese characters scribbled as an
interpretation for a simple message in English, I would shake my head and
conclude that the only way to understand Chinese was to be Chinese!
It is true
to say that this little childhood fantasy of finding out if the Chinese were
"real people" was pretty much resolved when my dad showed me a
photograph one evening as I stood squinting in front of the bathroom mirror to experiment
with the feeling of having eyes as small as that of the Chinese. It was
a photo of my grand Mother,-Alice Yung
Hoi. She was of a Chinese descent ! I was in shock. Then, half of the puzzle in my mind was
solved. Chinese people were real people.! All I had at that time, was a photo
of my grandmother and a Chinese word - "Shifo", meaning
"Master" per the subtitle in English, which my nine year old mind had
retained from watching the Chinese Series. I was determined to find out more. I
yearned to meet some Chinese people face to face, and to interact with them.
Moreover, I could not believe that as black as I was, I was more or less
related to a Chinese!
One can only
imagine my enthusiasm when after 10 years, I sat before my first Chinese
lecturer Mr. Li, in the university of Ghana, during my second year of studies. My
Chinese classes gave the opportunity to step into that world that had seemed out
of reach, and to shed off the absurd ideas... absurd ideas, embraced as truths,
due to my inability to figure out who the Chinese were. One of those ideas that
I had come to believe to be true was that the Chinese were named by means of a
metallic lid, thrown on the floor to make a sound. The clinging sound of the
lid, for instance "CHIN CHON CHIN" became the Chinese baby`s name and
I remember that with the help of my mum`s utensil lid, my little brother and I,
during one of our many stimulating play moments had tried giving ourselves a
Chinese name!
Some of
these stories I recounted to my Chinese teachers, (for later there were some
other volunteer teachers from China),and it made them laugh. It made me laugh as
well as I realized that indeed, most often , when we do not understand the
other person next door, we are content to settle for any story and believe in
any tale that may help explain who they are...
At this
point, maybe all you have heard about the Chinese, as an African, is their
famous" Ni hao," or as an Asian, you may know nothing about the Africans
except for the fact that they are mostly dark skinned. If so, AfriqAsia Merge
is the place for you. This is where you will get to read about Asians relating
with Africans and vice versa; the intriguing and inspiring exchanges between the two and etc: Even if you know a lot about Africa or Asia, you will
surely gain more insight into the progress made by the two continents ever since
they started journeying together.
The
documents on this blog are categorized into five main parts:
·
THE MERGER (social, cultural, educational etc.)
·
CULTURE AND ART
·
LIFESTYLE
·
LET`S SHARE (sharing
experiences and many more
:the good, bad, serious, funny...)
·
AFRIQASIA DISCOURSE (Interviews,
questions, responses, proposals etc.)
To end, you
may want to know,
WHAT
DO I GAIN WITH AFRIQASIA MERGE?
·
An insight into various forms of exchange and collaboration between Africa and
Asia. (social, educational, socio-cultural domains etc.).
·
A broader perspective on cultural
and artistic elements shared between the two continents.
·
An understanding of African
and Asian lifestyles to enhance co- habitation
·
A platform to ask
questions and get your questions answered.
·
A means to share what you
know on a "LET`S SHARE" platform
·
New contacts from another
continent
·
An open mind and many more...
WHAT DO I LOSE
WITH AFRIQASIA MERGE?
·
The stereotyped ideas,
·
The absurd thoughts and forms
of judgement
·
The narrow mind
·
The monotonous lifestyle
etc.
