September 12, 2017
Category: travel
August 19, 2017
Lima
Lima was bright and beautiful and bustling! Well, not exactly. It was gloomy and gray and gastronomical (#LITeration). The truth is that a trip to Lima was necessary. I was physically sick with a stomach infection for two consecutive days and getting really comfortable in the way of life in Cusco after six weeks and my productivity – writing, shooting, dreaming – took a backseat. It was only a weekend trip, Friday through Monday, but something about it gave me reasons to be excited about the road ahead. When in Lima, the agenda was chill. That means I ...
June 3, 2017
Morocco
I’ll be completely honest, I was afraid to travel to Morocco. Call it irrational, call it ignorance, call it “American media syndrome”, etc. I didn’t know how an Islamic country (even in Africa) would receive me – an African-American, Christian, Female. I had a very uncomfortable experience on a crowded train in Istanbul and was haggled and hassled way more than anyone would want on that 8-hour layover and automatically associated Islamic culture with that experience. I was absolutely blown away by how incorrect my assumptions were – the people were hospitable, good-spirited and friendly, welcoming us with open arms, ...
March 6, 2017
Lisbon
We stepped off of the plane and were happy to see the sun out (guns out?) after a few dreary, overcast days in Barcelona for a work conference. We made our way to the Airbnb by way of Uber, which was an extremely cheap option for getting around. The place was wild! Shout out to Pedro and Thiago for their quirky sense of style. The Casa da Padaria was the perfect Alice in Wonderland/Little Shop of Horror/Victorian play-place that we were searching hoping (?) for. Nothing prepared us for that or for the amount of time it would take to search for ...
February 6, 2017
Nashville
Once upon a time, I lived in Franklin, TN. I was too young to remember the place but I now have a good friend living and Dr. schooling in Nashville so I anticipate making this trip a few more times in the next few years. My coworker accompanied me on this trip, which added a bit of nuance to my perspective. It was her first time in the South (if you can call Tennessee that) and we were completely on the same page about the differences in culture between NY and TN. It’s quieter and the ...
February 5, 2017
Minneapolis
After completing a successful layover in Istanbul in April 2016, I was all for spending a few extra hours in a new city. On my way to Los Angeles over Memorial Day Weekend, I made a quick stop in Minneapolis on Sun Country Airlines. The train connecting the airport to the city is extremely easy to navigate and I ultimately had two options based on timing, go right and to the Mall of America to spend my time window shopping and eating or go left and venture into the Twin City. I chose left. I had never thought of Minneapolis ...
January 8, 2017
Madrid
Spain has been my favorite place to vacation to date. Most likely because of my travel companions but I’ll give the country a lot of credit. I journaled every moment of my Madrid and Barcelona experience and my heart still feels intense happiness when I read it. So, when in Madrid: ‘Arrived late and took a taxi to The Hat hostel, we gave the guy an extra €10 as a tip even though we shouldn’t have. The hostel managers were nice – the place was trendy and clean, I felt as though I was at summer camp. A girl was ...
January 8, 2017
Dominican Republic
I traveled to the DR to celebrate my 25th birthday (and get a much-needed break from the city). I’m not one to celebrate my own birthday so this one was pretty special on the account that a friend and I decided to celebrate together. A couple more friends joined us and we were off to a relaxing weekend by the water. Seriously. Don’t leave the resort. We were warned by everyone: our friends, a random passenger on the plane and the hotel staff. But sometimes life is your best lesson… The resort had everything we needed and more ...
December 27, 2016
Ghana
I’m always proud to say that I’m Ghanaian, well Ghanaian-American. If you can believe it there was a time when I didn’t feel that way. Up to age 13, I wasn’t fed healthy images of Africa from the media (surprise, surprise) and that one day in black history month each year when we talked about Africans being brought to America? Why would anyone want to go there and re-experience that? I was young, naive and scared when my parents told me we were going to Ghana for my first trip in 2003. Good thing they eased my worries (although arguably it ...
December 20, 2016
When In 