Botswana Journalist Beata Kasale who knew America through the Peace Corps Volunteers says Hollywood paints a far different picture of America
WORLD PERSPECTIVES: Hollywood paints a far different picture of America
By Beata Kasale
Herald Visiting Journalist
I was a bit skeptical when two American lecturers in Botswana asked whether I was interested in coming to the United States on a journalists' exchange program.
"What are the Americans up to this time?" I wondered.
Although Botswana, located in southern Africa, was a British protectorate (a polite way of saying a colony), I was more accustomed to Americans I met through the Peace Corps.
We used to marvel at the way they rolled their words and drawled when they spoke, as if the words came out of their noses.
So, it was a pleasant surprise that the Herald's editor, Mike Jacobs, assigned me to work under a former Peace Corps volunteer, city editor Jaime DeLage. He was a teacher in Botswana.
How refreshing it was to meet someone who did not expect me to start explaining that Botswana was not in Egypt but in southern Africa. Not that I am complaining about Americans' lack of knowledge about my country, because I did not know that a place called Grand Forks or North Dakota existed.
Thanks to my hosts, Agweek writer Ann Bailey and her husband, Brian Gregoire, I now live on a farm about 25 miles from Grand Forks. This experience has made me realize that there is another side to America. Not just hip hop, Hollywood and war.
The couple has exposed me to the world of cattle, corn and horses. It reminds me of home. When I met their two boys, I thought they would be glued to television with no time to say hello to this stranger from the African 'wilderness.' But their sons hardly even watch TV, except for the occasional football game.
I thought America was where children did not respect their parents and where loud music blared full blast.
I was wrong. Hollywood gives us a false picture of the United States. Unfortunately, we have swallowed this fickle and deceitful portrayal of the United States in our countries.
When I arrived in Washington, I realized that most people were rather obese and not waiflike creatures such as Demi Moore, Nicole Kidman, Halle Berry, Jada Pinkett or Sandra Bullock to name a few, as we have been led to believe by American television.
I am a bit on the large side myself, and how delightful it was to melt into the Herald's newsroom without feeling overweight and old.
I am 40-something, and most of the staff members here at the Herald are in their 40s and early 60s. At our newspaper in Botswana, I am regarded as ancient, with only one person older than me, even though I am not even in my mid-40s.
I find Americans friendly, accommodating and helpful, something I least expected. I had expected them to be intimidating such as the journalists who accompanied Bill Clinton and George Bush when the two presidents visited our country.
The land of the Lone Eagle
On Thursday, Dorreen Yellow Bird was kind enough to drive me to the Red Lake reservation, where all the myths I held about American Indians were quashed, when, to my surprise, I did not see people wearing colorful feathers on their heads.
I was mesmerized by the lake and the wild rice that grew on the banks of the river. The Red Lake traditional chief gave us some wild rice. I never had heard of wild rice before, and, later I tasted it in a beautiful soup my host Ann made.
Meeting culture teachers Frank 'Yellow Cloud/Lone Eagle' Dickenson and Wanda 'Medicine Rattler Woman' Baxter left me spellbound. How interesting to find that their traditional healing methods were similar to those used by the Bushmen and Khoe of Botswana.
Dickenson stated that for one to become a good healer, he must become one with the Earth. He emphasized that love was the "oneness" of all things.
"Love is the only natural state in the Universe. For the creator is Love, and the Creator created every living thing in Love," Dickenson pointed out while I listened in fascination. Just what I was taught as a young girl.
Baxter, a culture teacher and interpreter, said that most students at Red Lake High School were happy that they were being taught their culture. It's rejuvenating to see youth interested in learning about their culture.
In our culture, we were taught to respect our elders at all times and to be kind to all humankind. This was all changed by what television taught our youth. Some now are unfriendly and unruly youth who believe that what they watch on American television is "cool." We all aspire to live in a world filled with love, peace and harmony.
Kasale is a visiting journalist from Botswana taking part in the International Center for Journalists Staff Exchange program. Reach her at beata@info.bw.
