Logan is insane. Did you hear he's going to Africa?

Yes. I'm going to Africa in three months.

Why?

Most simply, because I want to. I could go on and on about wanting to do some humanitarian work, wanting to see gorillas, seeking to fulfill a need for conquest, or whatever. I won't. I just feel the need to learn something about this place that most people are too afraid to go. Through alot of reading, looking at pictures, and watching tv, I've fallen in love with the image of Africa that I have in my mind. And I know, that these images I have now will be completely torn to bits once I set foot on that continent.

I am a little scared, but I'm more excited than frightened.

I always look for humor in every situation I'm in. And what I find most funny right now are the responses I get from people, when they hear I'm going to Africa. The comments do vary, but most fluctuate between extremely negative and border on (and sometimes definitely cross over into) racism.

AIDS, malaria, thieves, kidnapping, guerrilla armies, machetes, potbelly children with flies on their faces.

People have no idea what they're talking about, and so they just say whatever they see on TV, just so that they have something to say. You know what people who have no idea what they're talking about should say?

"I don't know anything about that. Tell me about it when you come back."

That would be an alright response.

Instead, I have to overcome an audience of pessimists, on top of the pressures of saving money, getting visas, shots, maps, etc.

It would be stupid not to heed without precaution, and that's not what I'm doing. I'm reading, I'm researching, I'm loosening a blindfold.

Just to provide an example of my point, let's say you're moving to Kentucky. You don't really know why you're drawn to it, but you want to go. Maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't. You know what people will tell you? Rednecks, moonshine, incest, "squeal like a pig, boy! (Georgia), "what do you tell a woman with two black eyes? Nothing, she doesn't listen."

I don't know what it is that makes people bring up the worst when talking about travel. I guess its a need to protect, or a fear of the unexpected. Don't know. You could hypothesize all day. But I'm not. I'm going to take everyone's cynicism with a spoonful of sugar.