TRAVEL TIPS...AND TRAPS

The reflective commentary that must be submitted with each module portfolio is one of the least popular chores at university. Still, it produces valuable self-critical insights. Binyavanga Wainuna would not have been too pleased with my MAGIC SKIN in the Congo, complete with monkey stew and voodoo skulls! Tough titty; bushmeat protein and magic bones are driving forces, whether he likes it or not. A full belly and a working mojo work wonders in the Heart of Darkness. Reading Herge's Tintin in the Congo (Egmont) immediately after William Galvez's Che in Africa (Ocean) made me want to insert Che's comments into the comic's speech bubbles to produce "Tintin Guevara and the Mugangas". My teenage Kinshasa excursion might be put alongside a young African stumbling through some remote Baltic village, or racist Muscovite suburb, for balance. It's good to be reminded that so many places are mentally medieval. All the same, Richard Stupart's post at http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/travel-illusion-the-awkward-african-diptych-vid/ makes a valid point about the 'exotic' being described by the imperial Centre, especially when that Central Empire is represented by the likes of Robin Wiszowaty.