I have always been acutely aware of how my nationality as an American affects both how the world sees me & how I see the world when I travel. In reflection of my time in Ghana & before, I’ve identified an evolution of association, an internal growth that I was, & still am, searching for & discovering- that deeply meaningful growth that is the so desired essence of travel.

Depending on the location, I have been confronted with a wide range of emotions in others- some see Americans as embodying privilege & excess, while others assume ignorance as our primary trait- & have met those with my own spectrum of reactions. If I’m being honest, there are a few sentiments (within myself & others) that I have resented with fiery opposition, but have begun to view with less personal angst & more objective analysis.

When I lived in Barcelona I felt as if many local people put up a stiff barrier & they wouldn’t let me in- an experience that at the time made me feel rather resentful & sad. In the months that I lived there I observed how Catalonian people are fiercely defensive of their identity, a proud & stubborn people who are deeply rooted in and informed by their culture. While these qualities give the region’s insiders strength, it had the consequence of making me, an outsider, feel rather alienated by the people I so desperately wanted to learn from & integrate with. It took me some time to realize that it may have had less to do with the fact that I am American & more to do with the fact that they are intensely protective over their culture, a factor so strong that affects, again, how they see others & how others see them.

Fast forward a year and a half- I move to Ghana to work for a development NGO- my very first time in Africa. Here my fair skin makes me a small minority, assumed to possess wealth & treated as such. I too was guilty of such shallow preconceptions & brought with me more than a few expectations about what Ghana would be like- ideas of poverty & underdevelopment shaped within me by years of Western education and second/third hand accounts from others. In my first weeks, those things that stood out to me were those I expected to see- I noticed the open sewers & homeless children, took pity upon rural communities I assumed lived without.

Ghana was patient with me & my uninformed assumptions & over time she revealed to me her true colors- the colors of a spectacular nation rich in ways I never knew existed. I shed what I though I knew & experienced a shift that allowed me to realize just how foolish I had been to have felt, without wanting to admit it to myself, that my own nation’s biased definition of have & have nots was accurate.

In Ghana I feel grounded. Experiencing life here has made me feel more alive than I have felt in my whole life. The people are loyal & kind, the land more beautiful than any I have ever seen.

It is my hope that perhaps my story will inspire others to reach beyond what they think they know, & to delve in & discover how a new place actually is. Culture is so crucial in our associations with alternative ways of life. Perhaps all it takes is a new perspective to shift these associations, & open up a world of new ways to thrive within yourself & experience this life.

Originally from San Francisco, I am currently living in Accra, Ghana with my [very] significant other-  <3 Fabrizio <3

We will be in West Africa until November, working and traveling throughout the region before moving on to the next chapter…

Cappuccino Kisses is a space for me to document our adventures and express myself, as an outlet for ramblings and creativity.

Thanks for stopping by!