tck rant
ok, this is just your basic tck rant. you know how it is, something stupid happens and you just want to tell someone who will get it immediately without any explanaition or defensive mechanisms kicking up. so i turn to you all. feel free to add your own. like i said, just an old fashioned bitch-fest (so wrong, but feels so right!)
ok, so i am from botswana as most of you know. i am sure you have also heard me tell a story or two of how a LOT of people have never heard of the country. which really does not bother me at all. i have lived in other countries (d’uh!) so i know there is not a lot of media coverage on botswana at all, probably because it is very peaceful (read: boring) and has a very stable economy. not very interesting as far as world news is concerned.
ok, so like i said, it does not bother me AT ALL when someone has never heard of bots, i mean there are plenty of countries (i am sure) that i have never heard of.
but why, oh WHY do people who have already openly admitted they have never heard of my country, raise an eyebrow in skepitsism when i tell them something about the country due to soem weird pre-concieved notions that they have about the african continent or just their intelligence in general??? how does that make sense? like ”i’m sorry i have NO IDEA what you are talking about but you must be wrong!”
e.g.
him: where are you from?
me: botswana
him: never heard of it
me: ever heard of the kalahari desert? (actually called the kgalagadi)
him: (delighted) yes!
me: it is, in almost all its entirity in botswana, it takes up a third of the country.
him: (raises eyebrow skeptically), are you sure?
me: (a little outraged but calm)uhm…yeah, i am pretty sure.
him: (still skeptical) but i have heard of that desert plenty of times, wouldn’t i have heard of the country too?
me: (shrugs and walks away)
or;
her: where are you from?
me: botswana
her: i have never heard of it!
me: its in southern africa
her, oh! must be dangerous around there
me: actually, botswana is one of the safest countries in the world. it has never had a war or any real strife save a bit of drought and has one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
her: it must have had a war
me: nope
her: (raises eyebrow skeptically) but its in africa!
me: (shrugs and walks away)
ugh!
rant over. thanks guys, i feel better now…
April 11th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
oops, i realized the comment i’ve made above was supposed to be on the one about “When I was 14…”
To comment on this one, I would say yes, I have! I have lived in Hong Kong for 3 years but that was when I was pretty little. Because I barely remember my experience in that country I probably should not count on KNOWING, but then my experience in other Asian countries have helped me understand better and I tend to sound like I know more than I technically do.
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April 11th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
I think the difference is being willing to admit that your preconceived notions are wrong. I admit, I try to act like I know more about everything all the time (except math and science). But some people just refuse to listen–not that they’re arguing (like your Japanese business man), but they won’t hear another side.
Like Miyon said, people can get very carried away with their preconceived notions. I’ve done it myself, and I’d like to believe that I’ve always admitted I was wrong, but I don’t like to say “always” or “never” because I know there are no such things.
But Warona, I hate it when that happens. I met a guy who was convinced Vietnamese and Chinese were the same. It was the first time I’d encountered an adult with that kind of mindset, and I couldn’t even argue I was so astonished. He was ranting about communism and I guess he was alluding to the war, but where people get some of their ideas, I’ll never know…
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April 13th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
miyon, i get you, i am with you. i didn’t really *shrug and walk away* i actually stayed and very amicably finished the conversation. hell, i didn’t even yell when some guy said to me the other day “africans should eat the dead babies, that will alleviate the famine there”. and that comment is SO WRONG on SO MANY levels!
and dan, yes, i feel a very strong connection to norway and i ahve never been., i ahve very good friends from there and my birthday is may the 17th and i know quite a lot about the country, and yes, maybe i may speak a bit out of turn, but if someone who lives(d) there says it ain’t so, i will not argue, not at all!! evewn a lot of info i have about countries i lived in is outdated, so i don’t mind being corrected.
but i still don’t get how anyone can say they know NOTHING about a subject and then challenge you on it. that is worse than the day to day ignorant stuff people say, it is just silly.
anyway, you know how we do, it was just a rant. i am enjoying the other stories though. camobodian alphabet!!!! that killed me!! hahahahahahahahahaha!!!
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April 13th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
HAHA omg i havent been here for like.. a week! and i miss warona’s rant by like a few days. haaaaayyyyyy.
LOL, kinda like when i talk about how i lived in the the UAE for a few years..
Person: the UAE? Where’s that?
Me: The mid east.
Person: OMG, weren’t you ever scared of getting bombed..?
Me: No, it’s really peaceful down there - probably even safer than Canada, I must say.
Person: NO WAY!
Me: Yes way. I’m alive, aren’t I?
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June 28th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
sigh…yah honestly how do normal ppl be so judgmental and rude and totally not realize how wrong it is???
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH spazzzz
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