About

My name is Rachel. I am an undergraduate at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. I major in Development Studies with a concentration in Sub-Saharan Africa. This 2008-2009 academic year, I will be studying abroad at the School for Oriental and African Studies in the heart of London. This blog is dedicated to my experiences and travels over the upcoming year, and hopefully, all my adventures thereafter.

I’d consider myself kind of an enigma – a student of languages, of people, and of revolutions in body and mind. In my spare time I like to knit and sew artsy-crafty things, cook up a messy storm in my kitchen, and enjoy a good cup of tea and a great glass of wine. Sometimes I pick up a pen like I’m a published author.

Obruni (noun, adjective, and occasionally an insult): The word for white person in select West African mother tongues such as Twi, Fante, and Dangme. If your skin is any color other than black, and you ever find yourself walking around the streets of Accra, Ghana, you will hear this word no less than five hundred times – from the shouting of children to the uttering of shopkeepers. It is not meant as an insult in most cases, just a blunt observation.