6 Cultural Practices I Learned as an African

Introduction

I grew up in Uganda, but I spent a lot of time with my grandmother in Kenya as well. When I was younger, it wasn’t always clear to me how much our cultures differed. My grandmother’s stories were exciting and fun to hear about, but they also made her seem very different from the rest of us. As an adult, though, I’ve learned that there are many things that we can learn from other cultures—and some of those lessons have changed my life for the better! Here are six lessons from African culture:

How to greet people

• How to greet people
• What to do when you are greeted

The way you greet someone in Africa is different from how you’d greet someone in America. When greeting someone, it’s important to look them in the eyes and say “Asalamualaikum” (which means “peace be upon you”). In some African countries such as Nigeria or Ghana, there is also an exchange of pleasantries such as asking about each others’ families before getting down to business or having a conversation about whatever brought you together. For example: “How are your children?” or “How old is your son now?”

How to eat food from a communal bowl with your hands

If you’re used to eating with utensils and your left hand, this will take some getting used to. It’s not just about using your right hand–it’s about not using utensils at all! When you’re done eating, just leave the food in the communal bowl and someone else will take care of cleaning up later.

The importance of socializing and making time for others

Socializing and making time for others is important. You need to make sure that you have time to socialize, because it’s a way to connect with people and learn about their culture. You also need to make sure that you don’t forget about yourself in the process of making other people happy–you have your own needs, too!

One of my favorite cultural practices is socializing with other Africans. It was so interesting talking with them about their experiences growing up in Africa as opposed to America or Europe (or wherever else). I learned a lot about how African families work together; sometimes they live together under one roof! That’s something we don’t do here at home where I live now because there isn’t enough space for everyone in our house anymore since all four generations grew up together after World War II ended… but back then? Yeah! Everyone lived together under one roof!

The role of family

And then there are the family ties. Family is very important in African culture, and they know that you can always rely on your family members for help–even if it’s just to take care of an errand or two while you’re busy with something else. Family is also a safe place to be when you need comfort or advice, which makes sense since they’ve been together for so long that they know each other inside out.

You could say that this kind of close-knit relationship between family members has its downsides: if someone has done something wrong or hurtful, everyone will know about it (and probably talk about it). But overall I think this closeness makes life easier because it means there are fewer secrets floating around town!

The value of hard work and perseverance.

I learned that hard work and perseverance are the only way to succeed. If you don’t work hard, you won’t get ahead in life. If you don’t work hard and keep trying until you get what you want, then it will never happen for you because no one else will do it for us either!

Hard work is a virtue that African people value highly because they know how important it is for success in life. As an African child growing up in America today, I was constantly reminded by my parents how important it was for me not just do well at school but also make sure my grades were good enough so that I could go on to college or university after high school graduation too…

There are many things I learned about culture in Africa that changed me for the better.

I was lucky enough to spend my childhood in Africa. Growing up there, I learned many things about culture that changed me for the better.

Some of these lessons were easy to understand and apply immediately, while others took years of reflection before they made sense. Here are just a few:

• The importance of socializing and making time for others: My family always had big parties at their house on weekends–and even during the week sometimes! These events brought together people from all over town who would otherwise never get together, because everyone wanted to be there because everyone else did too! It was like having your own personal community where everyone knows each other by name and has something interesting to say when they see each other next time around (which is often).
• The role family plays in African society: There aren’t any words in English that accurately describe how important it is for Africans (as opposed to Americans) when it comes down right down between two people who love each other very much but might not live together forever because one day someone else might come along with whom both parties agree upon living under one roof again…but only after enough time has passed since last year’s breakup happened so no one feels pressured into doing anything rash like rushing back into another relationship before they’re ready…in other words…

Conclusion

Those are just a few things that I learned about culture in Africa. I would encourage you to explore more of these practices, as well as others that may be unique to your own culture. Remember that every culture has something to offer and we can all learn from one another!