当你听到“非洲”这个词时，你脑海中首先想到的是什么?

Ronnie Otieno
I live in Africa so I know a thing or 10,000 about it
My home. My continent. Where my country is. Where I am right now.
When I hear of Africa I visualize our continent. The continent just below Europe and west of Asia. The continent where so many people don't know about. The continent where humankind starts. The continent which is very diverse. The continent I am yet to find more about.
When I hear of Africa, I remember the things and documentaries I always watch online. The purely exaggerated articles I see online. The mindset I ‘see’ in Non Africans about Africa.

我就住在非洲，所以我对非洲略知一二。
那里是我的家，我的大陆，我的祖国所在之地。也是我现在所在的地方。
当我听到非洲这个词时，我们的大陆就在我心中浮现而出。非洲是一个位于欧洲下方、亚洲西部的大陆。这是一片很多人都不知道的大陆。人类起源的大陆。这片大陆是非常多样化的。这片大陆还有很多东西等着我去探索。
当我听到非洲这个词时，我想起了我经常在网上看的东西和纪录片。我在网上看到的那些夸张的文章。我“看到”非非洲人对非洲的心态。
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When I hear about Africa, I see beauty, I see the cascading water of Victoria falls, the famous Wildebeest migrations, the elephants which I am always fascinated about. The diverse culture. The food. The modern cities. Lovely people.
When I hear about Africa I see the need of development, the need to end corruption, the need to better Healthcare, the need to proper distribution of nations wealth. The need to stop hunger and famine. The need to end tribalism, conflicts and war.
When I hear about Africa I see HOPE.

当我听到非洲时，我看到了美丽，我看到了维多利亚飞流直下的瀑布，著名的角马迁徙，我总是着迷的大象。不同的文化。食物。现代的城市。可爱的人。
当我听到非洲时，我看到了发展的需要，结束腐败的需要，改善医疗保健的需要，以及合理分配国家财富的需要。停止饥饿和饥荒的必要性。需要结束部落主义、冲突和战争。
当我听到非洲时，我看到了希望。

Matthew Bates
This girl I knew in high school named “Africa”. She was beautiful. She also seems to have disappeared after high school. None of our mutual friends have heard a thing from her in the last 19 years.
Playing Civilization V with the real-world map. Once I figure out that my spawn point was Africa (the map reveals as you move around so it takes awhile to figure out where the hell you are in the world), I usually restart the game and hope for a better spawn point. Nothing against Africa, but I just haven’t had much success when I start there. Or South America or Australia or Europe, for that matter. Asia or North America are the best places to start.
A lot of the big, cool animals are there.
Also the cradle of humanity.

我高中认识的一个女孩就叫“非洲”。她很美。高中毕业后，她似乎也失踪了。我们共同的朋友在过去的19年里都没有她的消息。
在玩《文明V》的现实世界的地图时。当我发现我的重生点是非洲时(注:地图会随着你的移动而显示，所以你需要花些时间才能知道自己到底在哪里)，我便会重新开始游戏并希望能够找到一个更好的重生点。不是针对非洲，但我刚开始在那里的时候并没有取得太多的成功。或者南美，澳大利亚，或者欧洲。亚洲或北美是最好的起点。
那里有很多又大又酷的动物。
那里也是人类的摇篮。

Although they share a continent, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa are very different.
The whole continent is huge. There’s a desert the size of the United States on the northern part of the continent too.
There’s a thriving business around here of buying entire cars and shipping them to Africa. They often fill the cars up with spare car parts before they ship them. I used to know one of the business owners who did that. He was from Kenya and told me it was cheaper to buy cars here and pay the shipping costs than it was to buy cars there.
Pick-up trucks, Jaguars, and Lexus were the high-demand vehicles in Africa.
For all of the foods from different cultures I’ve tried, my African cuisine experiences seem to be lacking. I’ve had Ethiopian and Moroccan food, but that’s about it. I should branch out more in this area.

尽管北非和撒哈拉以南非洲位于同一片大陆，但它们的情况却非常不同。
整个非洲大陆是巨大的。在非洲大陆的北部也有一块面积相当于美国的沙漠。
这里的生意很红火，就是买整车并运到非洲。他们经常在汽车装运前把备用零件装满汽车。
我以前认识一个这样做的企业主。他来自肯尼亚，他告诉我在这里买车和付运费比在那里买车更便宜。
皮卡、捷豹和雷克萨斯是非洲需求量最大的汽车。
虽然我尝试过各种不同文化的食物，但我的非洲美食体验似乎有所欠缺。我吃过埃塞俄比亚菜和摩洛哥菜，但是仅此而已。我应该在这个领域进行更多的尝试。

Ashley Williamson
People in different countries think different things. I mainly know what people think in the United States.
People in the US think of Africa as a single country. Most don’t think of any country when they hear “Africa.” The main thing they think about is the large animals in some parts of Africa such as lions, elephants, giraffes, and zebras. It’s strange to see representations of different continents where with the other 5 inhabited continents it will be mainly about people and cultures and with Africa it will be exclusively animals. And most Americans will see that and think nothing of it.
Sometimes if they show a person it will just be a non-African going to visit the animals.
Americans only think about African people if they are specifically told to think about people. And then they will mainly think about extreme poverty and warfare. Some Americans basically think there’s constant warfare in all parts of the continent. Most Americans don’t know anything about any cultures in Africa.

不同国家的人有不同的想法。我主要知道的是美国人的想法。
美国人认为非洲是一个单一的国家。当他们听到“非洲”时，大多数人不会想到任何国家。他们想到的主要是非洲某些地区的大型动物，如狮子、大象、长颈鹿和斑马。很奇怪的是，看到不同大陆的代表事物，与其他5个有人居住的大陆的主要代表是关于人和文化的不同，非洲的代表事物都是动物。大多数美国人都是这么看待非洲的并且对非洲没什么别的想法。
有时，如果他们向一个人展示非洲，那应该是有一个非非洲人去参观动物。
美国人只有在被特别告知要考虑人的时候才会想到非洲人。然后他们基本只会想起极端贫困和战争。一些美国人认为，非洲大陆的各个地方都在不断地发生战争。大多数美国人对非洲的文化一无所知。

Subodh Mathur
Author: India's Path to Prosperity 2022-2047

作者:印度的繁荣之路2022-2047

I have worked in Africa for the last 20 years. Have travelled through the rural areas of South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Uganda and Tanzania. And capitals of many other countries.
What comes to my mind is hope and frustration.
There’s hope that African countries can increase their economic growth. In theory, there’s plenty of potential. For example, there’s abundant solar energy. Could be tapped to power economic growth. Population densities are low - so, overcrowding is not an issue outside big cities. There are other natural resources. Lot of people from outside Africa are willing to help.

我在非洲工作了20年。足迹遍及南非、莫桑比克、赞比亚、乌干达和坦桑尼亚的农村地区。还有许多其他国家的首都。
我想到的是希望和挫折。
非洲国家有希望提高他们的经济增长。从理论上讲，有很大的潜力。例如，有丰富的太阳能。可以为经济增长提供动力。人口密度很低，所以在大城市之外，过度拥挤不会成为一个问题。还有其他自然资源。并且许多非洲以外的人愿意提供帮助。
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The frustration is that it is difficult to get quick results. Even if you say that it is the organization (World Bank) that I work - that’s the problem. Well, OK. SHow me super-success projects undertaken either by the countries on their own or with help from others.
Ghana is one exception that I know of. Has been doing well. But, even here, they have messed up their economic policies in recent years, and had to get a bailout from the IMF. IMF confirms extension of Ghana's programme - Ghana News That’s just too frustrating.
Look at South Africa. They ignored their power sector after Mandela became President. Result? In 2010, they had to borrow $ 3.75 billion - yes, billion - from the World Bank to build a coal power plant. South Africa Wins $3.75 Billion Coal Loan In 2014, they were short of power. Unplugged And there are bleak jokes aplenty. “Q: What did South Africa use before candles? A: Electricity.”

令人沮丧的是，很难很快获得什么成果。即使你说的是我工作的机构——世界银行，那也是问题所在。好吧,好吧。向我展示一下这些国家独立的或在他人帮助下开展的成功项目。
据我所知，加纳是个例外。加纳一直做得很好。但是，即使在这方面，他们近年来也搞砸了自己的经济政策，不得不从国际货币基金组织(IMF)获得救助。根据加纳新闻，国际货币基金组织确认加纳的项目延期了，这太令人沮丧了。
看看南非。曼德拉成为总统后，他们忽视了自己的电力部门。结果呢?2010年，他们不得不从世界银行借了37.5亿美元——没错，是数十亿美元——来建造一座燃煤电厂。2014年，南非电力短缺。还有很多令人沮丧的笑话。问:在使用蜡烛之前，南非用什么照明?答:电。”
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Just too frustrating. And, yet there is hope. NIgeria is now working with the World Bank to tap solar power for rural areas. [Disclaimer: I am a consultant for the World Bank on this project.] World Bank Lends Nigeria $350m for Rural Electrification Projects It’s basically a solar energy project. The newspaper report says that the loan has been provided … not yet, but it’s in the works. The Nigerians working on this project are hard-working and high quality. So, there’s hope.
I went to Rwanda a couple of years ago. What’s your image of Rwanda? Terror? Chaos? Nothing works? Totally wrong. The reality is the opposite. Government officials want quick results. They work hard. They are motivated. That’s hope.
There are charges that the President is a dictator. Is Rwandan President Paul Kagame a savior—or a dictator? It’s surely authoritarian government - that’s frustration.

太令人沮丧了。然而，希望还是有的。尼日利亚目前正与世界银行合作，为农村地区开发太阳能。[免责声明:我是世界银行在这个项目上的顾问。]世界银行为尼日利亚农村电气化项目提供3.5亿美元贷款,这基本上就是一个太阳能项目。报纸报道说贷款已经提供了……其实还没有，但正在筹备中。尼日利亚人工作勤奋，质量高。所以,就有希望。
几年前我去了卢旺达。你对卢旺达的印象如何?恐怖吗?混乱吗?没工作吗?完全错误。现实恰恰相反。这里的政府官员希望尽快做出成绩。他们努力工作。他们充满动力。这就是希望。
有人指控总统是一个独裁者。卢旺达总统保罗·卡加梅是救世主还是独裁者?他们肯定是个专制政府——这是令人沮丧的。
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Dauk
When I think of Africa, I think of Liberia and Monrovia and Roberts Field and Pan Am. We laid over there for a week at a time, and had our own private beach. Young boys would climb the coconut palms and bring us coconuts. They’d break them open with a machete and we’d have a great lunch of fresh coconut.
I had my own clump of trees on the beach and I got stung by a jellyfish once.
Africa makes me think of one of the world’s most poisonous snakes, the black mamba.

一提到非洲，我就会想到利比里亚、蒙罗维亚、罗伯茨油田和泛美航空公司。我们每次都在那里躺上一个星期，在那里我们拥有我们自己的私人海滩。小男孩们会爬上椰子树给我们摘椰子。他们会用大砍刀把椰子砍开，这样我们就可以享用新鲜椰子的美味午餐了。
我在海滩上有自己的一丛树林，还有一次我被水母蜇了。
非洲让我想起了世界上最毒的蛇之一——黑曼巴。

It makes me think of the lagoon where I wasn’t supposed to swim, but did anyway. There was a parasite in it that would invade our bodies should we be so foolish as to swim there, and would fly home inside flight attendants, emigrating to the United States, In Search of a Better Life. When they got here, they were tasked with bringing about our eventual downfall.
Sorry. It’s my fault for going to the bathroom after I arrived home from those trips. I lived in New York and we all know what’s supposed to live in the New York sewers. At least the Monrovian Parasite conquered the Great New York Sewer Alligator, a fearsome beast who’s grown bigger and bigger every year since 1951.

这让我想起了那座环礁湖，本来我不该在那里游泳，但我还是去了。里面有一种寄生虫，如果我们愚蠢地去游泳，它会入侵我们的身体，然后跟我们坐着飞机飞回家，移民到美国，寻找更好的生活。当它们来到这里时，它们的任务是让我们的身体最终垮掉。
对不起。这是我的错，因为我旅行回来后去了洗手间。我住在纽约，我们都知道纽约的下水道里应该有什么。至少蒙罗维亚寄生虫征服了大纽约下水道短吻鳄，这是一种可怕的野兽，自1951年以来，它一年比一年大。

Why do you think New York City has all those potholes? From the epic underground sewer battles being waged between these two adversaries. Occasionally, you can catch one of their battles at Madison Square Gardens. Trump Tower will be sinking soon, no worries. I wonder if they’ll let the fifty foot alligator have a condo there? If they’re smart, they will. He doesn’t like to be turned down for condo applications.
Africa reminds me of the night I almost died because I thought it would be cool to go swimming in the rain in the ocean in the huge waves one dark night.

你觉得纽约为什么会有那么多坑洼?这是两个对手之间史诗般的地下下水道之战造成的。偶尔，你还能在麦迪逊广场花园看到他们的战斗场面。特朗普大厦很快就要沉了，不用担心。不知道他们会不会让这只50英尺长的鳄鱼在那里拥有一间公寓?如果他们够聪明，他们会这么做的。它不喜欢公寓申请被拒绝。
非洲让我想起了我差点死掉的那个晚上，因为我本以为，在一个漆黑的夜晚，在雨中在大海里的巨浪中游泳，会很酷。

It reminds me of the little envelopes of quinine pills we had to take for a week to ward off malaria. They must have worked, because none of us got malaria.
Africa reminds me of Lurch, the tall black waiter at the hotel who wore black tie, and never, ever cracked a smile. We’d ask him if the restaurant had the steak or other items on the menu, and it never did. We’d ask him for those things every night for a week, just to watch him say “No” as if it was the first time we’d asked. He’d stare above our heads, expressionless, straight out of The Addams Family.

这让我想起了我们为了预防疟疾，不得不服用了一个星期的小袋封的奎宁药片。药片肯定起作用了，因为我们都没得疟疾。
非洲让我想起了Lurch，一个酒店里的高个子黑人服务员，打着黑领带，从来不笑。我们会问他餐厅菜单上是否有牛排或其他食物，但回答从来都是没有。我们连续一周每晚都向他要这些东西，只为了看他说“不”，就好像这是我们第一次问一样。他会面无表情地盯着我们头顶上方，就像《亚当斯家族》里那样。

Africa reminds me of the time there was a coup and the ruling family, the Caesars (prophetic name, huh?), got their heads chopped off, and were used as footballs by the guerillas. The crew had to hole up for a week, all of them in one room, until they could be flown out. It was touch and go there for awhile.
It reminds me of the little town of Smell No Taste, so named because the villagers could smell the cooking smells of the military based at Roberts Field. Francisco and I were out walking once, and the villagers who passed called him ‘Boss’.

非洲让我想起了一场政变，当时统治非洲的凯撒家族(这个名字很有预见性，是吧?)被砍了头，被游击队拿来当足球踢。全体机组人员不得不躲了一个星期，所有人都躲在一个房间里，直到他们可以逃出去。有一段时间情况很危急。
这让我想起了“闻得到吃不到”小镇，之所以叫这个名字，是因为这里的村民可以闻到罗伯茨基地的军队做饭的味道。有一次，我和弗朗西斯科出去散步，路过的村民都叫他“老板”。

Africa reminds me of flights across the continent, west to east, and back again. Other airlines could only fly from top to bottom. (North to south ) We did go to Johannesburg, though. I remember seeing lots of tall white women there, which was unusual, apparently descendants of the Dutch.
No other airline could do what Pan Am did, flying west to east across the continent.

非洲让我想起了穿越非洲大陆，从西向东再返回的航班。其他航空公司只能从上到下飞行(由北至南)。不过我们确实去了约翰内斯堡。我记得在那里看到很多高大的白人女性，这很不寻常，显然她们是荷兰人的后代。
没有其他航空公司能做到泛美航空公司所做的，从西到东飞越非洲大陆。

Once a captain had to pay out of his own pocket for fuel in Lagos or the Cote d’Ivoire. The captain made three million dollars a month, so don’t feel too sorry for him. He got a lot of green stamps for filling his 747 at that gas station and was able to redeem several books for a toaster when he got home.

曾经，在拉各斯或科特迪瓦，机长必须自掏腰包购买燃料。机长一个月挣三百万美元，所以不要太同情他。他在那个加油站给他的747飞机加满油，得到了很多美国救济补助票，回家后还能用一些补助票换一个烤面包机。

Africa makes me think of King Kong movies, and Fay Wray and the Empire State Building. It makes me think of Kenya, and tall, beautiful Masai, and side trips to see the wild life.
My honest thoughts of Africa are affectionate ones of wonderful times with great crews.

非洲让我想到了《金刚》电影，还有费伊·雷和帝国大厦。非洲让我想起了肯尼亚，高大美丽的马赛人，以及去看野生动物的短途旅行。
我对非洲的真诚的思念是对跟伟大的机组人员们一起度过的美好时光的深情思念。

Mike Van Horn
I’ve been to the northern tip and southern tip—Tangiers, Morocco and Capetown, South Africa. And Dakar, Senegal, for refueling.
Africa is one big continent! On our way to South Africa, we flew 9 hours from Washington DC to Senegal for refueling. Then another 9 hours to Johannesburg, SA. Then another 2 hours to Capetown. That is one long trip!
From Senegal south it was dark. No lights. No cities. Not till we got into South Africa.
Africa is beautiful. The landscapes we could see, from ground or air, were stunning. Some parts very foreign, unlike any I had seen. Other parts very familiar, looked like home.

我去过非洲的北端和南端——摩洛哥的丹吉尔和南非的开普敦。为了补充燃料，还去过塞内加尔的达喀尔。
非洲是一个很大的大陆!在去南非的路上，我们从华盛顿飞了9个小时到塞内加尔加油。再经过9个小时就到了南非的约翰内斯堡。再过两个小时就到开普敦了。这是一次长途飞行!
塞内加尔南部一片漆黑。没有灯光。没有城市。一直到我们进入南非。
非洲是美丽的。无论是从地面还是空中，我们都能看到令人惊叹的风景。有些地方非常陌生，与我所见过的任何地方都不同。其他地方很熟悉，看起来很像家乡。
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In South Africa, we got up close to lions and elephants, and up close to artisans and wine makers and movie producers. A monkey stole bread from my lunch plate. Neighborhoods like Malibu California and shantytowns stretching for miles. The locals we talked with—Zulus and Afrikaaners—were proud of their country but worried about its future.
The questioner asks for “honest thoughts.” Thus he’s anticipating dishonest thoughts. I suppose he thinks most people will have prejudices against Africa, but I can’t be sure what he means. I wish the questioner would be honest himself.
I’ve been in many parts of the world, and everywhere I’ve been has been glorious and beautiful, with fascinating people. And also ugly and filled with trash, with frightening people. Africa included.

在南非，我们接近了狮子和大象，接近了工匠、酿酒师和电影制片人。一只猴子从我的午餐盘里偷走了面包。还有像加州马里布这样的社区和绵延数英里的棚户区。与我们交谈的当地人——祖鲁人和南非人——都为自己的国家感到骄傲，但也担心它的未来。
提问者要求“诚实的想法”。因此其实他期待着的是不诚实的想法。我想他认为大多数人都会对非洲有偏见，但我不确定他的意思。我希望提问者自己能诚实一点。
我去过世界上很多地方，我去过的每一个地方都是辉煌而美丽的，每个地方都有令人着迷的人。也都有丑陋之处，也有到处都是垃圾的地方，也有一些可怕的人。包括非洲在内。

Woman
I’m a white American who was raised with the toxic idea that Africans didn’t have phones or modern technology, and it was just a bunch of little huts and villages with people wearing leaves as clothes. I know better now (I still am not 100% sure what Africa is actually like, I haven’t delved into the topic) but when the word comes to mind the image of little hut villages still (unfortunately) pops up.

我是一个美国白人，从小我就被灌输了一种有害的观念，认为非洲人没有电话或现代科技，那里只有一些小茅屋和村庄，人们把树叶当衣服穿。现在我对非洲有了更多的了解(我仍然不能百分之百地确定非洲到底是什么样子，我还没有深入研究过这个话题)，但当这个词出现在我脑海中时，我第一时间想到的仍然(不幸地)是小茅屋村庄的画面。

Antara Sarkar
It’s not really a thought. It’s a feeling. A feeling of nostalgia.
I am Indian, and I was born in India. However, my family moved to South Africa when I was 7 (year 1995). We returned to India four years later. So for me, Africa reminds me of some of the best memories of my childhood. We lived in the beautiful seaside city of Durban, before moving to Pretoria, the city of Jacaranda trees. In 4 years, I went to 3 schools! It might seem a bit crazy, but it was quite an adventure to be honest. I met so many types of people, and made so many different types of friends. Thanks to Facebook, I am now in touch with them and even with some of my teachers.

认真的说，这不是一个想法。这是一种感觉。怀旧的感觉。
我是印度人，我出生在印度。然而，我的家人在我7岁的时候搬到了南非(1995年)。四年后，我们回到了印度。所以对我来说，非洲让我想起了童年最美好的回忆。在搬到比勒陀利亚之前，我们住在美丽的海滨城市德班，那里有蓝花楹树。在4年的时间里，我去了3所学校!这可能看起来有点疯狂，但说实话，这是一个相当大的冒险。我遇到了各种各样的人，交了各种各样的朋友。多亏了Facebook，我现在可以和他们联系，甚至和我的一些老师联系。
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We travelled a lot, while in SA. We drove 1500km from Pretoria to Cape Town, and back. We went to Kruger National Park thrice. Saw about 25 lions in total, including a live attack which is such a rare sight. Also drove into Zimbabwe, and visited the stunning Victoria Falls, a distance of 1300 kms. Went to Sun City way too many times (thanks to guests from India), saw the Big Hole in Kimberly, stood over the oceans at the Cape of Good Hope, and obviously visited the unx Building.

我们在南非的时候旅行去了很多地方。我们驱车1500公里，从比勒陀利亚到开普敦，然后返回。我们去了三次克鲁格国家公园。我见过大约25头狮子，包括一次罕见的活生生的攻击。还开车去了津巴布韦，参观了1300公里之遥的维多利亚瀑布。去太阳城太多次了(感谢来自印度的客人)，看到了金伯利的大坑，也曾站在好望角的海洋上，当然还去参观了联合大厦。

So anyway, you get it. Africa to me is nostalgia. It’s a part of my childhood that is so far away that it feels like it is out of my reach.
The second thought/feeling that goes through my mind is “irritation”. Why? I don’t like all the countries being clubbed together and being called “Africa”. I find that most people are not country-specific when it comes to African nations. Argh, as if the entire continent is one insanely massive country! I mean, seriously, look at a world map sometime, people.

总之，你要明白。非洲对我来说就是怀旧。这是我童年的一部分，它是如此遥远，感觉它是我无法触及的地方。
我脑子里的第二个想法/感觉是“恼怒”。为什么?我不喜欢所有国家都被放在一起，被统称为“非洲”。当谈到非洲国家时，我发现大多数人并不是针对某个国家。啊，好像整个大陆是一个巨大无比的国家!我是说，说真的，有时候请看看世界地图吧。

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