You are somebody, you come from some place and your life means something.

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I am the second of four children.  My father served more than 20 years in the U.S. Navy and my mother served as a Navy wife, keeping us together as a family, moving from one duty station to the next.  My love of things African began after my father told me the space in my front teeth is a sign of African beauty.  This was after a Navy dentist said braces could close the space.  My father let me decide and we left the office with my space intact and never to be discussed again.  I was given books on African and Afro-American hair, clothes, literature, history, science and immersed myself in learning about the food of both my parent’s families.  The food of my ancestors, I had found my passion.

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Besa and I met over a bowl of Jollof rice.  He was not only shocked an American would know anything about a West African dish but also that I knew how to make Jollof.  That was December of 2008.  With every passing day we learned the big water separating our two countries did not keep us from having so much in common.   By 2010 we knew our meeting was bigger than any bowl of Jollof.  We married in April of 2010, well aware that we shared not only love for each other but something very unique; two separate life stories, connected by history, culture and the desire to live simply with little impact on what exists in nature. 

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My love of food from all cultures has fueled my love for travel.  While visiting African heritage sites along the east coast of the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America, I began to realize how much I could learn about different cultures through their food.  The similarities in cuisine to my own culture continue to drive my passion for food and travel.

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My husband and I traveled to Ghana in January 2017. After being in Ghana for a month, I felt I had never lived in any other place.  And I never felt out of place. It was comforting to connect food, clothing, hair and other familiar Afro-American culture to African culture.  The people of Ghana were warm and welcoming.  My one month stay was a personal and heartfelt experience that cannot be described.

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African Heritage Tours offers you the opportunity to share with Africa who you are and learn what Africa may already know about you.  And like our ancestors, you will leave your mark on this place and carry something back across the big water.