Myth Busters

Unlike the experts on the TV show "Myth Busters" that always seems to suck me in whenever I find it on, my myth busting isn't exactly as glamerous, and I don't have nearly as many cool gadgets; however, I do feel like I'm making some kind of difference, even if it's only a few people at a time.  Myths seems to prevail here about America, and some of them are so outlandish, it's hard to believe that people accept them as truth.  Other myths could have serious health implications.  On the other hand, I know that there are lots of myths about life in Africa, which I'll have to shed some light on when I come home.  It'll be impossible for me to right the wrong of all the myths here, but I'm doing my best, whether that's through answering questions in the classroom or just having casual conversations with my neighbors.

Below, I've included some of the myths that I've encountered so far.  Just remember, there's no easy access to google here.  So, when someone claims to be an expert on something, people just take it at face value.

• Americans usually marry their brothers and sisters. No, that's illegal in America.
• If a Ugandan moves to America, their skin will turn white.  Skin pigments took 10,000 years to evolve, so it'll be a while before that happens.
• As I was introduced to a school, a colleague asked the pupils to guess which country I must be from because only white people live in America.  We have people of every nationality living in America.
• Americans can only have one child, so if we have more, we either kill them or give them away.  No, there is no limit to the number of children people can have in America.  Most people use family planning to have small, managable families.
• Family planning pills cause horrible side effects that never go away, so people don't use them.  This is still one I need to do some research on, but I'm wondering if medical professionals here don't tell women to expect unpleasant side effects the first three months, therefore they don't continue.
• Immunizations are the government's method to reduce fertility.  From my understanding, that's not true.  Uganda has a very awesome program, in which they offer free child immunizations, but some mothers don't take advantage because they don't trust them.  Sound familiar to the autism fear that is occuring in America?
• Poverty doesn't exist in America.  Not true.  You can see poverty in every major American city, but the face of poverty looks different than here.  Here, the family ties and responsibilities are so strong, if you've hit a rough patch, it's unlikely you would unable to find a relative to take you in for a while; however, in America, you're on your own.
• There is no space for farms in America.  Ever driven through Kansas before?  Lots of space.
• In America, we design a contract with our fiance for exactly how many years we want to be married.  Nope, it's still 'til death do we part.  We just tend to part a lot earlier than that, about 50% of the time.
• Posho (cornmeal bread) will make you stronger.  I honestly think it's all the water I have to fetch that's making me stronger, but we can agree to disagree about this one.

I'm sure there are others I haven't discovered yet, but hopefully I'll be able to find the right answers and the right way to confront them.  I don't think Myth Busters will contact me any time soon, but if they do, I'll let you know when the episode airs.