We skipped the buffet Apsara dance performances held at many Siem Reap hotels opting to see the Sacred Dancers of Angkor at the Divine Sala instead. An Apsara is a beautiful elegant young feminine ethereal being in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Apsaras entertain both gods and kings with their dance while seducing mortals with their […]
Death on Christmas Day
Christmas is a joyous occasion. When the phone rings you anticipate far-flung family and friends calling to wish you a Merry Christmas. You do not expect to be told that a relative has met death. Unfortunately, that was Christmas 2019 for us. I had travelled to my sister’s place where our mother has been staying […]
A Day in The Alhambra
The Alhambra is probably the main reason tourists pass through Granada, Spain. It is a large complex that includes the Nasrid Palace (Palacios Nazaríes), other palaces, the fortress, and the gardens. Entry is by ticket which can be bought online but is often sold out months in advance. I found myself in this predicament. Refusing […]
Two Days in Granada, Spain
My trip to Andalucia began in Granada. Well, I actually flew from Dublin to Malaga with the full intention to catch the last ALSA bus from the airport to Granada. Of course I missed it by just minutes because of a delay in the flight. These Spanish buses run on time! I allowed myself to […]
Rubber Plantations in Ghana Replacing Food Crops
The last time I visited my father’s farm in Nzema I was twelve or thirteen years old. I don’t remember any mention of rubber plantations. Back then my parents would go to Nzema for the weekend leaving us in Accra and would return with the pickup bed loaded with palmnut, plantain, cassava, yam, snails, and […]
Nzema Staple Attieke Popularized by Ivory Coast
Attiéké. Akyeke. Aky3k3. Attieke. Acheke. Adj3k3. However you want to spell it, there is no denying that the Nzema staple attieke has been popularized for international customers over the past several decades by Ivory Coast. Well done! But now Ivory Coast wants Intellectual Property Protection for attieke. That gives me pause. Let me explain. What […]
Gender Fluidity and Women’s Colleges, Part I
We are in the midst of a gender revolution. No, not the male versus female one. But the one about those in between. Recently, it forced Wellesley College, my alma mater, into the news when the New York Times published an article titled When Women Become Men at Wellesley. I was startled, not because a […]
Questioning my Identity
In the wake of Ghana’s disastrous show at World Cup Brazil 2014 I’ve had to ask myself why I even try to clutch on to a Ghanaian identity. Yes, I was born in Ghana, to Ghanaian parents, and hold a Ghanaian passport. No, that does not automatically make me Ghanaian as I have learnt throughout […]
Brunch with the Mother
It’s my sister M’sa’s birthday. The plan is for brunch in the city (NYC) and ice-skating. It’s frigidly cold and if the meteorologists are correct, it will be the first significant snow day of the year. I have just driven a few hours from my home to join the birthday party prior to departure. To […]
Public women and prostitutes in pre-colonial Ghana
So while scouring the internet for more information regarding the African prostitutes of Europe I learned that some of the Ghanaian prostitutes are not actually Ghanaian but Nigerian women who have secured Ghanaian passports and that a lot of the Nigerian women involved in this trade in general come from Benin City, Edo State. I […]
A lover of mangoes. A woman - smart, without pretense, lefthanded, Afropolitan - navigating this thing called life. An unapologetic believer in social justice and karma. Choosing to radiate positive energy and be true to myself. Here, my musings.