In My Africa

This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the song.

"In My Africa"
Season/Series:	14
Number in season:	9b
Original Airdate:	April 27, 2011 September 21, 2011 January 10, 2011
Credits
Written by:	Ken Pontac
Storyboard by:	Gerry Capelle
Episodes
Previous "D.W., Queen of the Comeback"	Next "Buster Spaces Out"
Read transcript

"In My Africa" is the second half of the ninth episode in the fourteenth season of Arthur.

Summary

D.W.'s new classmate, Cheikh, is from Senegal, in West Africa. When D.W. realizes that she doesn't know much about Africa, she plans to learn through music. D.W., Brain, and Cheikh pool their resources to write a song about all 54 countries on that continent!

Plot

D.W. strolled down a street lined with French signs, introducing herself to the viewers. While the scene could have been in any city, it turned out to be Dakar, Senegal. She pointed out her friend Cheikh, who was juggling El Boomerang, and mentioned the show was about him. Cheikh playfully corrected her, saying it was more about D.W. and her cousin Brain. D.W. agreed but insisted Cheikh was an important part of the show. They even joked about creating their own show called "D.W. and Cheikh," which they planned to pitch to Arthur, the current star of the show. Cheikh enthusiastically supported the idea, and D.W. welcomed the audience to their story.

In My Africa

Cheikh pointed to Senegal on a map of Africa, proudly proclaiming it as his home country. A flashback revealed of him and his mother standing outside their old Dakar home, watching his father load the car. Cheikh narrated the scene, recalling his departure for Elwood City months earlier. His mother reassured him that he would make many new friends. Cheikh expressed his concern about missing his favorite Senegalese foods like poulet yassa and couscous, and wondered if Americans enjoyed those dishes. He also inquired about the availability of movies and birthday celebrations in America, remembering his fifth birthday wish to attend the circus. A map then displayed the journey from Senegal to North America, highlighting Cheikh's transition to a new country.

After that, the scene goes to D.W.'s preschool, where Cheikh is introduced to the rest of the class, but D.W. interrupts, saying that she already knows who he is, as Arthur had told her who he is, and then shows him a picture that she drew of what she perceives of his life back in Senegal.

Cheikh tells her that his life isn't like that, because he lived in a city, and then the teacher tells D.W. that she should learn about a place before she describes it.

Then the Tibbles make fun of D.W., saying she knows nothing about Africa, but then D.W. vows to start learning more about Africa, but then Cheikh explains that Africa is not a country, but an entire continent.

Starting at school, she looks at the map in class and when she gets home, she starts reading books about Africa, but it is difficult for her, as she doesn't know how to read yet.

Arthur explains to D.W. that it was hard for him to learn about Turkey, where his pen pal Adil comes from, and maybe she needs someone who understands more about Africa than she does, and then Arthur picks up the phone and calls his friend Brain, and then Brain starts telling D.W. of ways she can learn about Africa, but his ways were too difficult, so D.W. suggested that maybe they come up with a song about Africa, and then they start singing, then Cheikh comes in and helps with verses about foods from Africa, and then the next day in preschool, the Tibbles think she will humiliate herself, but Cheikh tells them that she won't because he will be singing with her, then they sing another verse.

After they sing the song, Ms. Morgan introduces a new student named Keith from Kalamazoo, and then when the teacher asks if anyone knows anything about Kalamazoo, D.W. raises her hand and says she doesn't, but she would like to learn, finishing the episode.

Characters

• Maryann (cameo)
• Liam (cameo)
• D.W. Read
• Cheikh
• Emily (cameo)
• James MacDonald (cameo)
• Keith (cameo)
• Edwin (cameo)
• The Brain
• Arthur Read
• Cheikh's mother
• Cheikh's father
• Ms. Morgan
• Timmy and Tommy Tibble
• Amanda Hulser (cameo)
• Elias Howe (cameo)

Songs

• "In My Africa"

Trivia

• The episode was produced before South Sudan gained its independence, so the song does not have a verse about that country.
• The country of Swaziland's name was changed to Eswatini in 2018, around eight years after the production of this episode, so the song refers to Eswatini by its former name.
• D.W. is the first character to begin the episode and host the show instead of Arthur since it opens in Dakar, Senegal, Africa instead of Elwood City (home).
• Running Gag: D.W., Brain and Cheikh singing their song.

Errors

• Possible: D.W. pronounces Lesotho as Le-so-tho, not Lee-soo-too, as it is supposed to be pronounced.

Episode connections

• Learning false information about a place from movies and TV is exactly what Arthur did in "Dear Adil."
• Cheikh appears as a main role again in "Citizen Cheikh," and he and his mom and dad become American Citizens in said episode.

Cultural references

• D.W., Cheikh and the Brain walk across a zebra crossing, a reference to The Beatles album Abbey Road.
• This entire episode is about the countries in Africa.
• Kalamazoo is located in the United States in Michigan.

Gallery

• 

  Cheikh's Mom

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•