Ga. Ashanti. Ewe. Fante. These are a few of many Ghanaian ethnicities. Believe it or not, Ghana is populated by a cool 23,000,000 people. With this is in mind, let me ask one question: Why on earth would anyone expect all Ghanaians to look the same?

As a Ghanaian woman living in London, this is a question that has wandered around my mind for some time now, and has still found no answer. Seriously, if I got one pesewa every time I was asked if I was Ghanaian, I would be a millionaire by now. I would be even richer if I received a pesewa for every time my response (a big YES) was followed by a look of surprise from my interlocutor. What do I need to do to prove to you that I am not Nigerian, Caribbean, Sierra Leonan and all the other nationalities I'm apparently supposed to be?

For those who walk around expecting me to be a few shades lighter than a black board and short with too much junk to fit in the trunk just because I happen to be of Ghanaian descent, you really need to take a trip back to Accra and take a good look around.

I remember being at a cousin's wedding. I was speaking to a family member, when I noticed a man nearby staring at me. Although I carried on with my conversation, I was becoming a bit unnerved by how intently I was being stared at. I was beginning think I can't take any more of this when he finally approached me and rudely interrupted my conversation, "eh! excuse me, are you a Ghanaian?"
"Um, yeah" (that was me, a little surprised about the audacity of some people). I then got the once over as this man's eyes slowly ran over my body, from head to toe. When he was done, he focused on my face again and responded "it's up to you."

THE CHEEK OF IT!

Although I understand for each nationality there may be a 'typical look', I don't get why people act shocked when they stumble upon someone who looks different from 'the typical'. It's not as if I go through life never expecting to be asked where I am from, I just find it very annoying when I am treated like a compulsive liar.

With everything that has been going on recently, I had not been able to get this post out.

I had a whole post planned about a new year and new beginnings and all that but when I heard about the earthquake in Haiti, I promptly forgot about all of that. For thousands of Haitians, there will be no new beginnings. This is a country, the poorest in the western hemisphere, that has seen her "new beginning" falter time and time again. This event is another blow to her legacy and it is the most shocking yet. I cannot possibly imagine the scale of the devastation nor can I begin to understand the helplessness the Haitian people must be feeling right now. All I can do is urge. If there are any helplines in the country in which you live, I ask you to donate. Haitian singer Wyclef Jean's foundation Yele is accepting donations, as is Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without borders) and the International Red Cross. There is news coverage of the earthquake on all major news outlets at the moment so it's not difficult to keep informed.

Let's all send out some prayers for our brothers ans sisters in Haiti. How much suffering can one nation take?

Happy New Year Everyone!I hope you enjoyed your holidays. Now that 2010 is finally with us, what do you hope to achieve? Although 2009 came with its good times, the biggest one for me being graduation, I must say I am glad it is over.

I feel much more positive about this year, I know the job hunting will finally lead to a new job, and I will finally be able to leave the world of retail! (I am not knocking it beacsue at the end of the day a job is a job!) I am just saying that season is over for me.

Also, I am praying things on the relationship front will start looking up. I intend to shake off the ex, who refuses to leave me alone although he lives miles away in Ghana. On top of that, I am done pining over guys whose phone calls I didn't even smell although they swore up and down they would text or call.

Next, the weight I steadily and slowly gained over 2009 has got to GO! (So that will be a big NO to big tins of maple syrup and large bars of Galaxy) ...OK, not totally, but just not as much as before. Lol!

This is just the beginning, there are a whole load of other things I intend on improving this year, but we'll take it one step at a time.

What are your thoughts about the new year? What do you want to improve/ change in you life? SHARE SHARE SHARE!

Wow, it has been a while hasn't it? I guess we have been all wrapped up in Christmas madness. I for one, have been totally unavailable,working all hours God sends down, all the while sending off a million and one applications in search for another job, looking for Christmas presents for loved ones, and being generally exhausted to do anything else.
You have probably been as busy as I have, spinning around in circles and getting yourself all wound up. But while you get sucked in by all the superficial, commercial nonsense that the Christmas holidays have become, make sure you remember the real meaning of Christmas and the reason why you are celebrating it.
The true meaning of Christmas is an issue people like to throw around and debate about, each and every Christmas, merely talking about it to satisfy their conscience(I confess I am ,at times, one of those people) without really exerting much energy to ensure the real reason for the season is honoured.
We talk about it being a time for sharing with family and loved ones, when its very essence is a Saviour being born to the world to save humanity, God Himself coming into the world to live the human experience.
I am well aware of the fact that not everyone is christian, but whether you're an atheist or a Buddhist, if you are going to celebrate Christmas, at least take the time to know what exactly you are celebrating.
John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York likens society's treatment of Christmas to attending a birthday party with no gift for the birthday boy/girl, but instead a million pressies for all the other guests.
Wow! Now I feel like I'm preaching! Well, before I get carried away, I want to sincerely wish you all a very happy Christmas and a prosperous new year. Thank you for your support this year, and I hope you stick with us in 2010.
God richly bless you all.

Who here is sick and tired of other people's ignorant and misinformed ideas of Africa? Well, you are not the only one.

In the weeks leading up to my holiday in Ghana, I was hit by Ghana-fever and I couldn't stop talking about it. I drove everyone crazy with Ghana this and Ghana that. After ten years since my last holiday in the Land of Gold, a trip back to the motherland was well over due. So you can imagine my excitement once I had actually paid for my ticket. I remember a few weeks before my holiday in Ghana, I was at work when a dress in the stock room, waiting to be marked down and placed on the sale rack, caught my eye.

Mmm, I thought. This dress is not actually that bad. In fact, it will go down nicely in Ghana. It's a good price too, and if you take away the staff discount...by this time I was grinning from ear to ear.

So after my shift, I took the dress to my manager so I could buy it. Needless to say, she wasn't as enthusiastic about my decision to buy the dress. "Why are you buying this god-awful dress?" she asked.
"Cos, I like it", I was determined to stand my ground. "Plus, it will be perfect for clubbing in Ghana". She responded by giving me a puzzled look and saying "are there clubs in Ghana? I thought it was just mud huts and fig leaves".



Now, think about all the times someone has said something to piss you off, all the times someone has treated you like rubbish, and all the times you were enraged by something you saw. How did you feel? Well, that was exactly how I felt at that moment.

I knew there and then that what I really wanted to say to her could cost me my job, so instead, I took a deep breath and said, "why don't you educate yourself, so you don't say something like that again". Then it occurred to me, that all the images had seen and all the stories she had ever heard about Africa were of poverty, corruption, war and death. She had probably never been told that Africa was the richest land in natural resources, or that the world's oldest university is in Egypt. The story she had heard of Africa was the one not told by its own people. But the one that she had been told by the history books and by the media. "Anyway, it's not your fault", I muttered under my breath.

That is the danger of a single story. When somebody tells your story for you, and you have no say in how it is told, the truth becomes distorted. Let me leave you a clip of Chimamanda Adichie , the author of Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun. In it, she explains the danger of a single story in a more elaborate way. It's a bit long, but please click on the title of this post, which will lead you to the clip, and watch it to the end. There is a lot to be learnt.