Misconceptions of Kenya
by Sean Alexander
I can
understand why you are curious about traveling to Kenya. A lot of people do not
know much about Kenya, if they even know about Kenya at all. Most Americans do
not know even know what Kenya is like or even where it. They just assume it is
like every other country in Africa, so they automatically assume that it is a
terrible place to go to on vacation. Kenya is an amazing country, and I can
show it to you by proving the three most common misconceptions of Kenya wrong.
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| http://www.ngkenya.com/ |
My first misconception is that Kenya
is a very hot and dry desert. The truth is that Kenya’s climate and temperature
varies a lot. The reason is because Kenya is a high elevated country, filled
with many mountains. At its highest peak, it reaches 5,199 feet above sea
level. Due to the mountains, Kenya’s climate there is always cold. In all of
the mountains there, they are snow capped. Some of the mountains are even
permanently snow capped. The temperatures in Kenya vary a lot. One day it can
be warm, and then the next day it can be chilly and windy. There also is heavy
precipitation there, between the months of April to June, and October to
December. The reason for this is because it borders the Indian Ocean. If a
place is located next a large body of water, it will get a large amount of
precipitation. One important facts about deserts, are that they are always dry
and do not get much precipitation at all. Because Kenya gets lots of
precipitation, it can’t be classified as a desert. Most people think it is hot
because it is located between 4 degrees South, and 4 degrees North, so it is
right on the equator. If something is on the equator, then it will be warm year
round, without much change to. Kenya is not a hot and dry desert.
My second misconception is that
Kenya is a dangerous and violent place to go. Most of the people think that not
only Kenya, but most of Africa is an extremely brutal place. The reason they
think that is because the only big news that comes out of Kenya is always very
negative. The news is always about wars, pirates, revolutions, and most
recently, child soldiers, which will definitely shock the world and scare away
tourists. No one ever hears about the good things that happen here. Any good
news that comes out of another country that Americans would hear about would
have to be something huge and life changing. There is nothing like that that
comes out of Kenya, so were stuck with the bad news all the time. It is much safer
than people misconceive it to be. We think that it is filled with killers and
animals. Most things are contained there. A popular thing that most people do
there is going on safaris. Safaris can be extremely dangerous. If that is one
of the most popular things to do there, then it is safe. Also, as you will find
out in the next paragraph, people in Kenya love Americans. They think we are
one of the richest countries in the world, so they admire us for that. No one
there would want to harm you there. You will be perfectly fine traveling to
Kenya.
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| http://www.kenyanview.com/nairobi.html |
My final misconception is that Kenya
is dirt poor. This is a very common misconception, considering that when most
Americans think that every country in Africa is filled with poor people and
starving children. People thought that they did not have any toilets, that they
lived in trees, and that they had to eat bugs to survive. All these
misconceptions are huge lies. People can afford their own toilets, eat normal,
healthy foods, and live in nice houses. Americans even think that they do not
have cars, so they have to walk or ride a bicycle. They have cars and even busses. The only
reason that Kenya is not a fully developed country is because its economy is
currently messed up. The money there is not balanced and distributed well. If
its economy was to balance, Kenya would be one of the wealthiest countries in
Africa. That proves that Kenya is not a dirt poor country.
When you travel to Kenya, you should not have to worry at
all. They really like America, so you will feel welcome right away. The two
official languages are Swahili and believe it or not, English. That means we
could easily communicate with them, because we speak the same languages as
them. The main religions are Protestant and Roman Catholic, which are two of
the most common religions in America. They also admire Americans. They think we
are one of the richest countries in the entire world, and they like us for
that. We also have not gotten into any major wars or disputes with Kenya
either, so they do not have any reason to dislike us. You should not have to
worry about going to Kenya, because they like us as a country.
Kenya is a very beautiful country. Kenya is not a hot desert,
due to its climate and mountainous region.
It is also not a violent and brutal place because the people there will
not want to hurt you because you are American. Kenya is not really that poor,
either. People think it is so poor, that they have to resort to living in trees
or huts, and eating bugs and other strange foods to survive. They live in
normal houses and have plenty of healthy, delicious foods. You will be welcomed
a lot better there than you would be in most of the other countries, because
they admire Americans for our wealth and because we have never had any problems
with them. Kenya would be a very safe
and smart place to go to on a vacation. Kenya is one of the best countries in
Africa, and if you go, you will definitely find out why it is.
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