I can't remember the last time I wrote a poem. It was surely part of an exercise at school. What I am really trying to say is that I don't think I have ever written a poem voluntarily. So, here we are. My first poem that was not written under duress: Red Eyed Dove You...
In 2019, I had a red bump on my forehead that would not go away. I applied different creams and ointments. I tried covering it up, I tried airing it out. Nothing worked. I thought that maybe my skin was irritated by my motorbike helmet. But when I went to the states...
Yes, the decluttering of our digital life that people talk about. I am really doing my best to follow the latest self-help trends. Even birding is apparently what you should be doing now! I was subscribed to many newsletters, but when I separated the wheat the chaff,...
Part of this appeared in our Scoot West Africa Patreon. Senegalese democracy in turmoil -- is it the end? This is what we heard for months. The whole thing was about to collapse. Protests had been violently suppressed, the internet repeatedly throttled, and the main...
I garnished my daughter's breakfast yesterday morning. Bintou cooked the crepes, but I applied the chocolate. I don't always apply the chocolate. Bintou often does that, too. As I was spreading the Nutella around, Bintou repeatedly mentioned that I need to make sure...
These kinds of posts used to be popular back in the youth of my blog so I will give it a go and see if that is still the case. They are also easier to write because they can be completely incoherent. I'm supposed to now say something like number 8 really surprised me...
Do I want to wade into these waters? Not really. I have relatively flimsy toubab-in-Mali credentials to be talking about pan-Africanist critiques of the neocolonial order. But maybe someone can help me see something that I'm missing. By now you may have heard the...
I don't know how to articulate this thing that happened. My original email to the person in question may be enough. Hopefully it's comprehensible: It's pretty insane and probably not believable, but I will tell you what happened. The other day I was thinking about...
"TIA" - this is Africa. Seasoned travelers, country counters and a certain class of expats adore this phrase. I regret to say that I may have used it at one point in my life. Thankfully I have suppressed those memories long enough to not know when that was. You are...
It's not lost on me that we left Mali because of all the question marks around the political and security situation and we are now getting phone calls from friends in Mali asking if we are OK over here in Senegal. We are indeed ok. In the village of Somone, you...
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The Great Jakarta Tour of Far West Africa Part 1: Bamako to Dakar
That time I got married in Mali
Bamako to Abidjan by bus: a chance to get intimate with the hot season
You Bring the Yam, I’ll Bring the Fire
Drawing Camels with 100 Different People in Bamako in 24 Hours
A photo essay: Bamako taxi interiors
A Cocktail Shaker and 10 meters of Fabric in Adjame Market
My sheep, sail boats on the Niger, dance contests and other photos from Mali
