I have briefly touched on my relocation to the UK in a few posts, but nothing too detailed. I did not want to turn afroklectic into a travel journal! However, there are days (like today), where I have to share with you my ‘afroklectic’ experience.
I was born in Australia and in Australia, the Ghanaian/African population does not compare to what is in America and Europe. Arriving at Heathrow alone, I felt like I saw more African people than I would see in Australia 3 months. When my parents came to Australia some 20+ years ago, there were a handful of African people and from what I have gathered, Ghanaian people seemed to be the most. When I was growing up, a lot of the Ghanaian faces in Sydney were familiar to me. The Ghanaian community in Sydney is a quite close knit. We have mass functions where a large percentage of the Ghanaian population would attend. Parties and Weddings even become community events, especially when you have been in the community for a long time and are well known. In Sydney it feels as if we know each other and each others business. We are a very large extended family which has stuck to a lot the traditions and values of our culture, but also added an Australian twist. However, we do miss out on some of the food luxuries like the fresh Kenke takeaway packages, the real plantain, awaakye to takeaway or the freshly baked bread.
Coming to London, I thought I was going to get the same kind of feeling I get in Sydney times ten – since there are many more Ghanaian people in London. I was totally disillusioned. Not every Ghanaian knows every Ghanaian person in this London. Nor does every Nigerian know every Nigerian in London either. There are too many people!!! That is logical! I think I was shocked because I was not used to it. Hearing my language all around me and not knowing the people speaking it was weird. This was all foreign to me! A friend of mine who moved from London to Sydney around the same time I moved to London, and she basically said that in Sydney you’re pampered by the Ghanaian community and in London you’re not! The Ghanaian population of London is too big for that!
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So my Dad has never been to London, but he told me that I should make sure I visit Brixton because it is apparently the ‘Bronx of London’ and there are lots of African people. I didn’t trust my Dad’s word! I asked around and people kept telling me that there are alot of African people there. I have been to Barking (East London) on numerous occasions since I have been here and there are lots of African people. But people were hinting that Brixton has a different kind of vibe. So today I went there!
Now here’s the deal…. I found out that there are Ghanaian people who bake Ghana tea and sugar bread in Barking. After eating the bread, I was sold on moving to London forever just so I could get the bread! But today sealed the deal when I went to Brixton Village. I thought I was in the Kumasi Marketplace in Ghana minus the mass amounts of people. I couldn’t believe my eyes! My eyes lit up like a child seeing candy! African fabric filled with fabrics like the stores in Ghana, hair salons everywhere like a domino effect packed with women, stores full of hair and beauty products, and the food – authentic Ghanaian food!!! It was as if the everything I wanted from Ghana was at my fingertips in Brixton village. In one store I stood amazed at all favourite shoes on the shelf! In my mind, I made one of my favourite dishes with some of the products of the shelves.
I think every shop keeper saw the amazement in my face. They kept asking if I was OK!
I literally stood in every shop dumbfounded!
SOURCE: TREKEARTH, BEHIND THE SCENES ADVENTURES, & URBAN75
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