Today marks the beginning of my last week at 23. Some of you may have read that sentence and laughed at the theatrics of it (who takes note of their last week at a specific age?). This is a reasonable response, especially because our culture is not often one of noting these small markers. I've …
Author: ourhomelands
Ctrl: A Vibe for Today
I wasn't a big fan of SZA until 2019 really, after I suffered a minor heartbreak and the lyrics of her songs took on new life. The major heartbreak I'm feeing now is adding further depth to the beauty of this album for me. Though targeted at a lover, SZA sings about pining after something …
Friendship and Steadfastness
One thing shelter in place has given me is a deep appreciation for consistent practices with friends. These rituals have taken two flavors — the kind I get to practice up close with friends I'm sheltering with, and the kind practiced at a distance. Up close I did and didn't know all of the holes …
The cookbook is here!!
The cookbook I've been working on has finally been released. Woooo!!!! You can find more on it here on Amazon Incredibly thankful for the folks who came out to the launch. I hope the food, company, and stories nurtured
Little Gifts and New Chapters
I write this post from Brussels- my time in Ghana has come to an end! This is sad for me because Ghana has been so good to me. I'll miss getting to spend so much time with Loretta (a fellow 2nd daughter!), with Prince, Lawrencia and little Nana. I will miss getting random calls from Dada …
Earlier Homelands
Nkawkaw is a bustling and full town at the northern part of Ghana’s Eastern Region. I mention that it is bustling and full because these are more recent developments in the town’s history. In the not too far away past (I should have asked for dates!) Nkawkaw was rural. Now, though, it is properly no …
Cape Coast Visit
A significant part of Tuesday was pretty upsetting- the kind of upset that just makes you feel stuck. Loretta and I went to see Cape Coast castle on Tuesday. The sorts of things you can maybe imagine disturbed me- the three small windows in the female slave dungeon starkly contrasting the FOURTEEN large windows in the governor's …
Thoughts on Jollof
Casual online research, or an ear on the floor of a West African home, will tell you that jollof rice is important. People care about the way their jollof rice is made. Their jollof rice? There does seem to be some consensus that jollof rice is a West African thing, and that there are some …
Counting Time
I have been counting my time through a couple different lenses. The first is on a year-by-year appreciation sort of level. This is because I just turned twenty, and also because I recently learned that I have a 97 year old great grandmother! I learned about her existence (in the “she is alive” sense) yesterday …
Twenty
Today I am twenty. Wowowowow. It feels like a long time coming, as some of the friends I am closest to said goodbye to their teenage years practically a year ago. Goodbye to the end of an era (decade). Birthdays of course are proper time for reflection. Can I do justice to the …
