"It is said that volunteers who go to South-America become politically aware; those that go to Asia become spiritually aware; and those that go to Africa come back drunk and laughing. The drunk part.... i don't know about that but the laughing definitely" - Josh Swiller. Boy is it true that what we do best in Africa is laugh. 
You might have heard of the wars and suffering in Africa, but there's another side of us that you need to see. It's our joy and laughter. I don't know how we do it, but we do. Every where you go in Africa(almost), you can see pain and suffering, you can see visible hardships that are better not described.
I left Nigeria a little while ago and something some of my friends still send me are jokes. It is no wonder some of the most successful programs in the urban areas are comedies. 
I and some of my cousins were in the woods one day against the wishes of our Grandpa, a pastor whom we had gone to visit; when he found out about us, he made us come in the house and gave us some real whooping. I mean the thrashing was just like my dad said it used to be, everything and more.
All of a sudden my eldest cousin started laughing because of the way i was screaming and crying. Before i knew it everybody in the room(all of whom had been whooped except the elders) were laughing. The scenario was hurtful but when i was released, the sight of 72 year old man whooping us and sweating was hilarious when i thought of it, so i started laughing.
Things like that and so many other occassions make me understand why the BBC would call Nigerians, a group of people with so much suffering and pain, wars and hurt, the happiest people on earth http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3157570.stm.
They may speculate about the reasons and do scientific studies, but the truth is: it is just what we do best.
Nice blog, and true!
This laughter can be found all over the continent and ends when crossing the boarder into South Africa.
They suffered a bit to much (abuse) in the past and people are extremely filled with bitterness!
Hopefully this will change in the generations to come.
Cool pictures,
I have never smiled so much as when I went to Kenya. The people just radiate with joy even if they are facing the most trying of times! And their smiling faces literally light up the whole world! There is nothing better than seeing a beautifully dark face light up with sparkling white teeth into the widest grin that spreads all the way from earth to heaven's gates!
"If imperfections are what make us beautiful, then I must be a total babe!"
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/missionsminded-maiden
This is so true. I have family in Cameroon and they seem to be the happiest people alive. Despite horrible living conditions and cramped situations, they are happy to be with family and seem to always be laughing and having fun.
They know how to make everything seem alright with a few jokes and a big smile. It's comforting and it makes me feel that they will be alright in a continent filled with war.
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"Is it true, said Candide, that people in Paris are always laughing?"
-Voltaire
My friends from the Ivory Coast are the same. Always smiling, and the most compassionate people you will ever meet. If you need help, they are the first to go out of their way to do anything for you. Humanity is a wonderful thing.
My parents are both Nigerian and I have been back there twice. What you wrote is so completely true. When my family gets together it is almost ridiculous. Its sooooo loud but its all about everyone being happy and having a good time. None of them drink but you would think they do the way they act.
My dad always told me, that in trying situations you can either laugh or you can cry. Laughing isn't really brushing it off as nothing, but it is so much better for your spirit and for your life if you can laugh through things.
the "warm heart of Africa," as the country is known...and yeah, despite being one of the poorest, most plauged with HIV and AIDs place in the world, people are still amazingly optiomistic and happy! Music is a huge thing in Malawi; people are constantly singing and dancing and of course, joking and teasing each other...it is infectionious, soon even boring Americans who claim they never dance or sing are joining in (I know, 'cuze I was one of those boring Americans.) Anyway, I feel like part of my heart is still in Malawi and I have a great desire to go back someday...despite all the poverty, the refugees, the pain, the disease, the malnutrition...Malawians know how to have a good time...and they where proud of their families in a way that is very rare for Americans...everyone you'd talk to would brag about their kids, their wife, their brother, their sister, whatever...family is so huge to them!
One of my good friends just went to Malawi for a month to do aids work. She had nothing but good things to say about the country. She absolutely loved it there.
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"Is it true, said Candide, that people in Paris are always laughing?"
-Voltaire