for most people, the real world ends on the threshold of their house, at the edge of their village, or, at the very most, on the border of their valley. that which is beyond is unreal, unimportant, and even useless, whereas that which we have at our fingertips, in our field of vision, expands until it seems an entire universe overshadowing all else. often, the native and the newcomer have difficulty finding a common language, because each looks at the same place through a different lens. the newcomer has a wide-angle lens, which gives him a distant, diminished view, although with a long horizon line, while the local always employs a telescopic lens that magnifies the slightest detail.
- ryszard kapuscinski, shadow of the sun (a book i highly recommend to anyone looking for an extremely thoughtful, well-written, and captivating book about africa)
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