In Photos: Possibly Strange Sights in West Africa

Taxi interior design in Bamako. Minimalist taxi interior design T-shirts in English in Francophone countries. “PMS – Putting up with Men’s Shit.” He’s not trying to be ironic. He just doesn’t know what the shirt says. I’m...

Let’s Talk about Dance

Dance never meant anything to me. I spent most of my life doing the drunken two step, with stiff hips and arrhythmic gyrations. In other words, looking like an idiot. But a few steps of coupé-décalé rewired my brain and now dance is important to me. Dance is important...

I Have a Plane Ticket

Anne-Marie and Blessing head up BCU (Banku Crushers United). I was a provisional member until word got out that I don’t actually eat Banku. In the world of dense heavy starches, I prefer fufu. Thankfully, I was not banished entirely from the girls’...

Sound Memories

I travel with a canon s90 and a flip cam. I do most of my reflection with a notepad; some amount of that writing ends up on this site. I also travel with a digital field recorder, currently an Edirol R-09. I record a bit of everything with it. Music from car stereos...

Find me a Country with More Pride

I tend to rail on people who generalize about Africa, but I also realize that cultures south of the Sahara have a lot in common. This post from Akila and Patrick, about a cooking class in Zambia, reminded me of that fact. Women append their babies to their backs with...