John August

Africa

Backpacking through Africa

Africa, Random Advice

questionmarkMy wife and I are about to embark on a year-long backpacking trip around the world. If time and money allow, we’d love to explore parts of Africa. Unfortunately, mostly due to our own ignorance, we’re trying to overcome a healthy dose of fear and trepidation.

You’ve been to some parts of Africa, haven’t you? Is there anywhere you’d suggest that’s easy and safe for independent tourists?

-A.

random adviceI’ve only been to South Africa and Malawi.

The South African leg of the trip was a safari. It was incredible, but it’s very much a tourist thing. It should be part of your visit to the continent, but it wouldn’t be reflective of most of your time in Africa.

In Malawi, I was working with a charity called [FOMO](http://www.fomo.co.uk), which serves 5,000 orphans in one of the poorest places on Earth. It was probably the most intense experience of my life. I’ve written about it a [few](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2007/home-from-africa) [times](http://www.advocate.com/Arts_and_Entertainment/People/Out_of_Africa/), but 30 seconds can give you some taste of it:

I wasn’t backpacking, but I met Americans and Europeans who were. Track down some books and blogs and follow their advice on where to go and what to avoid. Nothing is “easy,” but much of it is very safe.

A few hints I can offer:

* Read up, but try not to form expectations. Let it be what it is.
* Start getting your shots early. Many of them need weeks to take effect.
* Everyone has different experiences with anti-malaria medication. Most visitors take it, most natives don’t. You’ll be okay either way.
* Bring a first aid kit. It can be hard to find a Band-Aid, much less 911.
* A small inflatable globe can help show where you’re from.
* If your cell phone works in Europe, it will work most places in Africa.
* Hooking up with a charity (like FOMO) is a good way to meet people beyond normal tourist avenues.

Most importantly, don’t let fear of the unknown stop you from visiting. It’s not Mars. A billion people live there, and you owe it to yourself to see what it’s like.

Simple English Wikipedia

Africa, International

For another article I’m working on, I came across the [Simple English Wikipedia](http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page), a parallel set of articles written in a subset of English designed for non-native speakers, students, children and others who may have trouble with standard English:

> __Simple English__ is similar to English, but it only uses basic words.

> We suggest that articles should use only the 1000 most common and basic words in English. They should also use only simple grammar, and shorter sentences. Writers can also use a special system, for example Basic English. Of course, people can write original articles; these could be put in both this and the main Wikipedia (with a normal level of English). Usually, only about 2,000 words are enough to write a normal article.

For example, here is the first paragraph from the botany article, first in the [regular English wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botany)…

> Botany, plant science(n), phytology, or plant biology is a branch of biology and is the scientific study of plant life and development. Botany covers a wide range of scientific disciplines that study plants, algae, and fungi including: structure, growth, reproduction, metabolism, development, diseases, chemical properties, and evolutionary relationships between the different groups. Botany began with tribal efforts to identify edible, medicinal and poisonous plants, making botany one of the oldest sciences. From this ancient interest in plants, the scope of botany has increased to include the study of over 550,000 species of living organisms.

…and in [Simple English](http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botany):

> Botany is a science. It is a branch of biology, and is also called plant biology. It is sometimes called phytology. Botany is the study of plants. Scientists who study botany are called botanists. They want to learn about how plants work.

That feels like a book report I wrote in third grade after a deep research session with the World Book Encyclopedia. But that’s a good thing. For many users, that simple definition of botany is all they need. It answers their question, and provides a basis for further learning.

More importantly, a user with limited English could write that article and share it with the world, while inviting the same kind of editing and feedback that native-language articles get. A teenager in Botswana could document the rules for a common game largely unknown outside the community. That’s remarkably helpful.

I can anticipate cries of implicit English imperialism; who says that the world’s knowledge is better kept in English? Fair enough. But I’d rather the article exist in Simple English than not exist. I’d also suggest that Simple English probably machine-translates into other languages more easily than other alternatives.

As a side note, it’s worth pointing out that the [simple](http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenwriter) article for “screenwriter” is currently better than the [full](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenwriter) one.

Are glossaries a good idea?

Africa, Formatting, International, QandA

questionmarkIf a screenplay has a good amount of foreign words sprinkled throughout, is it OK to attach a glossary of a few pages? Or is that an amateurish way to handle it? These foreign words would appear both in action/description and in dialogue (NOT to be subtitled.)

I just think that it would make for a smoother read to NOT have explanations of each word as it comes up in the screenplay.

— Alejandro
Caracas/Los Angeles

My hunch is that you won’t need it. When you need to use the foreign term in action, put the translation in parentheses right after the word. When you’re using a bit of the language without subtitles, it’s still a good idea to provide a parenthetical to help the reader:

Merry stirs a pot of kholowa (sweet potato leaves), while the children play tag. She fakes a smile as her neighbor NYANDO walks up. He’s fifty and blind in one eye.

MERRY

(how are you?)

Muli bwanji, Nyando?

Have some English-speakers read your script, and if they’re truly perplexed, a glossary might be in order. If there are five really crucial terms, you could put it at the start of the script, right after the title page. If there are more, a glossary at the end might be better. In any case, keep it to less than a page.

New York, Africa

Africa

I’m in New York for a [U.S. Doctors for Africa](http://usdfa.org) benefit, during which I’ll be introducing the founders of [FOMO](http://www.fomo.co.uk/), the Malawian orphan group I [worked with this summer](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2007/home-from-africa).

Coordinating our small part of the event has been an interesting example of the flat-worldness of 2007. I’m American; the charity is British; the filmmakers who put together the video for tonight are from Abu Dhabi. Without email, it would have all been nearly impossible to organize.That Malawi is almost completely internet-inaccessible is not lost on me. I have ideas and hive-mind questions, but that’s another post.

The goal of tonight’s activities is to enlist USDFA into getting much-needed medical care to the Mulanje region of Southern Malawi. Most readers are probably more familiar with [Doctors Without Borders](http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/home.cfm), another terrific organization. The difference between the two groups is in approach. Doctors Without Borders goes into crisis locations. They’re firefighters. USDFA is much more about building sustainable, locally-centered programs — which is why Malawi (and FOMO) makes so much sense.

Underscoring the small-worldness meme, upon checking the schedule, I learned that one of the other presenters tonight is [Mia Kirshner](http://imdb.com/name/nm0000477/) — an actress from my very first TV pilot, whose departure from the series inspired a portion of The Nines. I don’t think she holds a grudge. But then, she is an actress, so would I know?

It’s uncomfortable to have aspects of my life crossing over. By and large, Africa John has been pretty autonomous. While there, I didn’t introduce myself as a screenwriter. They don’t have movies, so being the guy who writes movies is roughly the same as being the guy who paints unicorns. And outside of a small area of Los Angeles, I don’t have any measurable celebrity quotient. So I’ll be speaking tonight with only the authority of a guy who helped paint a mud-brick building. And I’ll be hoping the DVD intro plays correctly. Because I’m pretty sure they shot on PAL.

UPDATE (11:55 pm EDT)
—

* The video went off without a hitch.
* Cipriani is a beautiful space.
* I was apparently looking at some other event’s schedule, because there was no Mia Kirshner to be found. However, Brett Ratner was there to introduce Russell Simmons. After that, I was probably the next biggest celebrity. Which is alarming.
* If [Alex Band](http://alexband.net) were a tradable stock, I’d probably buy some shares. I’d never heard of him either, so it was smart for him to sing, “Wherever You Will Go” first for the “oh, yeah” factor.
* I ended up chucking my script, which is a bold choice for a screenwriter. But after a string of hold-my-award speeches and a soporific live auction, I thought it best to just speak from a place of emotional honesty. It cut through the post-dessert fog, which was all I could hope to do.
* The emcee introduced me by saying, “a man who needs no introduction,” which is patently false. The friend of the guy who was in The Brothers McMullenNo, not Ed Burns. The other one. — he knew who I was. Because he’d just finished a novel. And was looking for an agent.