passing by

Era un Jueves por la noche y yo apenas había adquirido mi guitarra. Estaba en el subway, bailando al ritmo de la salsa de Willie Colón que provenía de mis audífonos cuando este chico (por no decir hombre) se me acercó. Eres artista?-Me preguntó y me dijo algunos términos -completamente nuevos para mí- acerca de mi guitarra. Él estaba en camino a un show, tenía un estuche (de la misma marca de mi nueva guitarra, la que me dio Shashwat y yo no sabía que era profesional) que parecía contener un saxo pero no sabría decir si era eso. Me recomendó que vaya a este bar de jazz, del cual ya había escuchado por otros medios. Se pasó de su parada y conversamos acerca de música. Dos semanas después fui a perderme en la cadencia errática de jazz en Smalls. Entre estas dos semanas; sin embargo, debatí las preguntas epistemológicas y dialécticas más difíciles en mis estudios y mi enfoque en energía renovable. Fui a una conferencia acerca del efecto de consumo de energía en la salud- básicamente la

Almost a month since I came back from Ghana has passed. I am losing the sense that I WAS there. But, it is inevitable to be charmed by New York’s bustle and hustle and this is why I have not written about my life here. But I shall start. First and foremost, I found a home with my new roommate Dani who is no less than amazing. She actually has a blog too. I moved to the financial district, which is almost paradoxical to my indie self but I had a good feeling about the prospect of living here and I have very much enjoyed it so far. I lie to myself saying that I (sort of) have a view of the Brooklyn Bridge from my (tiny) balcony ;) The seaport was hit very hard during Sandy but it has received a lot of attention and remediation efforts have been very successful here. (There is still a lot of work to get done in the Rockaways and Staten Island) Before moving here though I was apartment hopping. I am so grateful for Alex and Rahma who received me in their pla

My farewells always include rain. It was Friday morning and I saw the sunrise. I opened my backpack and found the lighter Zoran had given me the night before –Stay you- It said. I smiled. My departure was imminent. It was drizzling and the streets were as empty as I had never seen them in Kumasi. Not even the waakye stands were ready to serve breakfast (Waakye is a traditional dish made with rice, beans and a spicy stew, simply delicious). I said proper good byes to my housemates and took my terribly large luggage once Ray arrived. The adventure was about to begin. Raymond and Agyemang, two friends and coworkers came with me to the Volta region. I had been told not to leave Ghana without visiting it. We took a long tro-tro ride into Peki. Ray and Agyemang had been telling me that they had never been in the Volta region or anywhere outside of Ghana. They were seeing mountains for the first time. Although only 1000m high, the mountains were embracing me again, just as they do when

The stars cloaked the night. The trees protected us from the darkness with a moon that shone smiling with full teeth. I wish I had the knowledge to recognize all the noises from the jungle but just listening to them made me feel that I was part of something bigger, that life is one. We spent the night at Kakoum National Park. It was the ending I needed to a day that had kept my throat in a knot. Elmina is the most colorful place I went to during this trip. It is incredible that the energy there is as powerful and unlike any other place where human atrocities have been committed (where I have visited). The people there seem to have fully reclaimed it.  There was sorrow in the halls of the castle though. Feces, tears, urine, sweat and blood all belonged to the floor of the overcrowded cells. Desperation, resilience, hunger and resignation became human essence, where women would have to either choose to gracefully give their bodies to the governors or be beaten, tied to a canno