why thank you! we used Black Travel Club - there were lots of other Black American travel groups there but sadly i don’t remember the names.

as far as i know, hone is pronounced just like the english word to refine or sharpen.

no one bowed down to anyone or prayed to deities - or was asked to - so not sure what you’re referring to. while many activities had a spiritual element to it bc West Africans are a spiritual people (be it traditional African, Christian, or otherwise), everyone engaged however they chose or not at all.

totally agree. of all my friends who went (but not in my travel group), none of us had the same experience. some did a 50/50 mix of party and history, others almost exclusively partied. and yet we all feel very much changed by the experience. i can’t wait to go back and just KICK IT.

lol hell i hate-liked a lot of pics too, and i was there!! 

awww snap! a friend of a friend was with TasteMakers. we may have been on the same flight back!

yeah, our tour guides told us we should have fun with it and never accept the first offer. most vendors won’t even make a sale if they don’t think it’s a good one, they’ll let you walk away. that still made me anxious so i bought very few items as a result lol

lol valid

thans, Wu! def want to hit Senegal as well. VSB group trip???

funny you mention this - i was not rejected in any way from Blacks or Mexicans. i had a few Blaxican friends growing up but they all spoke Spanish and all had family in Mexico (i did not have either). i had many Mexican friends but we did not have the same interactions that they had with others who spoke Spanish (and…

thank you! and to be honest what you described is how i felt when i spent time with my Mexican friends’ families. i experienced Mexican culture in a way i did not with my own family. it was so foreign yet oddly familiar.

it was indeed a love letter to her (though that is not what i was initially intending to do). she read it before i submitted it and chastised me for making her cry lol

LOL i love it! gotta put that nerdiness to use