Like everything else about her, Kiitan’s hair was difficult. All her life, only one hair dresser had not complained. Aunty Toyin, from Jakande Beach Estate. Only that sweet rotund woman had spoken lovingly, maybe sometimes in awe, about her thick, long and very unmanageable hair. Everyone else had complained; her mother, her aunties, even her friends who should know better. […]

  I have caught the travel bug. Sigh. I cannot complain though. To have the opportunity to travel to places I have read about is a privilege. I don’t take it for granted. Mbanu! PS. I am trying to choose between Malaysia and the Philippines for my next trip. Suggestions, advice, tips are very welcome. In the meanwhile, Pura Vida baby. […]

What if all the characters in my stories existed? What if their stories were true? John Irving says ‘My life is a reading list’. This is so true for me. These days my reading list are chapters of the Bible. I can actually find myself in God’s word. Have you ever read a story that read like your life? This […]

  Once upon a time Maimuna would have done anything Baba wanted without batting an eyelid. Once upon a time, a long, long time ago. These days my sister stares at our father with askance when he asks her to do even the smallest things, things she would have once jumped with joy to do. Things like bathing me. “Manu, […]

This is the last one in the Cuba series. I wasn’t going to share but I decided what the heck at the last minute. Cuba gave me fever. Now I want to see the world. I have tickets booked for central America in a few weeks and there is a plan underway for the Down Under as well.  The thing […]

This note should have come with the first post so sorry guys but here goes anyway. I am finally getting around to sharing my experience in Cuba. I wrote most of these on the trip so you will find some weird tenses here and there. Forgive me. Over the past few days, I have been sharing what were my diary entries, […]

If you asked me my theme song for Cuba, It would be Aerosmith’s I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing. Every time I slept or napped, it felt wrong. Like I was betraying this amazing country. 7 days was not enough. A year might not be enough to discover the wonder that is Cuba. That are Cubans. One thing this trip […]

I visited an underground cave in Matanzas. Matanzas is a province near Havana. I had heard of caves before but I had never been to one. I know people say you should leave the best for the last. But how was I to know, a piece of heaven was underneath my feet as I arrived Cuba. The verse that kept […]

Che is everywhere in Cuba. And he is Argentinan. But his story is so inspiring that I understand why these people love him so completely. I have heard of him before now but you know how you hear of someone but don’t pay attention. In Cuba, I had no choice. Che is everywhere. I never knew he was a doctor. […]

I didn’t like Hammed Ajiboye. He infuriated me. He had opinions that I thought were uneducated. He argued blindly. He seemed to have more spirit that his frail body could handle. He was a lot like me. One time, he made a statement about the experiences of African Americans due to slavery and I was so mad at him that […]