The final week of my stay in London became more and more frenetic as the day of Ive’s wedding drew closer. The pace sped up and tempers shortened, but such is life. On Tuesday Uje, Ubani and myself set off to Woolwich town centre with a list of items needed to the wedding. Given that London is not big on shopping malls, we assumed that there would be a high street of some sort. Having trouble finding the place we asked for directions and were greeted with confused expressions and shrugging of shoulders. Note to self - Woolwich Town Centre is not the best for a shopping spree. The evening was more fruitful as Uje & I met up with a NZ friend at London Bridge. We learned very important lessons about London public transport that ... read more

I arrived in London on Monday 3rd April and right now I'm in Liverpool for the weekend. It's been interesting so far! My "home base" is in Thamesmead South East London. It's a suburban area full of identical semi-detached brick homes right by the famous River Thames. I'm staying here with some family friends who are getting hitched next weekend. It's not the most exciting area, but one can easily escape the drudgery and head into London city by Buses, Trains & Subways. Ooh, I'm having so much fun with the public transport system here. I'm sure to many my fascination is a bit puzzling, but if you live in Auckland, you'll be feeling me right now. On Wednesday morning I decided to take a short little adventure to the local shopping centre whilst awaiting the ... read more

Today I made big plans to visit the American Museum of Natural History, the New York Metropolitan Museum, the Guggenheim Museum of Art, and the Apollo Theatre. I thought that I'd have enough energy and determination..... In reality I made I spent 3 hours at the Museum of Natural history and didn't cover one quarter and was already feeling tired. Hmm... It's a very interesting place though! I spent much of my time exploring the exhibitions on the different people groups - Africans, Asians, Native Americans & Pacific Peoples. That was definitely my kind of fun. I was impressed with Pacific Peoples exhibitions, considering it was an American museum. After staggering out the museum all bleary-eyed I caught my tour bus to Harlem to the Apollo Theatre. Harlem was originally a Dutch settlement, and pre 1920 ... read more

On Sunday night I travelled back to Baltimore by bus. As my dear friend Abena put it, I had my first Greyhound experience. For a 4 hours bus ride it felt rather short! I was sceptical how good the ride would be given the threats made by the bus driver to throw anyone off the bus if he heard any beeping pagers or cell phones.... Ahh, the hospitality of America. Why back to Baltimore? I'm struggling to find an answer myself.... the main reason was for more shopping and more time spent with my uncle & Abena. I was able to catch a small glimpse of Inner Harbour although it was at night, and a Monday for that matter. What I did see was nice - art deco. We had desert at a restaurant called "The ... read more

Today I did my first little solo expedition to Eastern Baltimore. With the aid of my uncle, I purchased an all-day transport pass and set off to The Great Blacks in Wax Museum. It’s in a real random place - the corner of a street among throngs of abandoned dilapidated buildings. It’s a Madame Tussauds-like museum on the history and heritage of African American people. I’ve heard a lot of the history before, but seeing the life-sized wax figures made the realities so stark. The first part of the museum was a tour through a replica slave ship. The conditions that people lived and died in were absolutely diabolical. These people that suffered could have been the brothers, sisters & cousins of my great great great grandparents. Really brings it home. The next parts of the ... read more