Posts Tagged ‘Travel’
Poorism vs. Tourism: A photographer's take
Hop over to Scarlett Lion’s blog and read today’s Context Africa piece, about photographer Samantha Reinders. She’s been photographing Township Tourism in South Africa since 2004. Among other things, she points out that this kind of tourism isn’t static: I have seen the industry at large, as well as the actual tours, change for the [...]
Just one more thing from Rwanda…
17 March, Nairobi, in transit to Freetown I am surprised how emotional I felt at the Kigali airport. I mean, I’m not leaving-leaving; just going away for about two weeks, and then coming back. Maybe it’s because I finally feel on top of my game in Kigali, and I’m ready to run. Maybe it’s because [...]
How to stand out in Rwanda even more than you already do when you’re white
There are lots of great images and interesting language in Chimanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun, so I don’t know what it says that this one has stuck with me. But ever since reading it a few months ago, I’ve never felt quite the same way about myself. There’s this boy, Ugwu, who [...]
Rwanda’s street kids or America’s homeless: Who’s poorer?
A friend recently spent a month in California. While there, he took a trip to Venice Beach, and from the sounds of it, everything there surprised him. Like the crazy people who mutter to themselves and to anyone else who will listen. The most fantastical things roll effortlessly from of their mouths. Meanwhile, “I have [...]
Things whiny white people in Africa think about
Getting your luggage back, when you haven’t changed your clothes in a week, is like indulging in a shopping spree without spending a dime. Is it true? I really have two more pairs of shoes? I have…scarves? Skirts in so many colors I’m not sure I remember the names of them all! Yoga pants! (And, [...]
Quasi-lands time zones forgot
They are airports. I have never liked layovers—I can’t think of anyone who does—but I like to think I have always been rather stoic about them. Four hours in Chicago here, five hours in San Francisco there. But there’s nothing like the America-Africa layover. It is a marathon in lethargy, painful enough to make an [...]
I am a freelance journalist and multimedia producer who covers human rights, Africa and foreign affairs. [