ON A DEEPER LEVEL....

I love Europe, I love evrything about the places I've been so far ...the smell, the streets, the good variety of foods and different tastes...

And I love that Europe is so different from when I was younger --times have really changed, culturally. Its so wonderful that I feel more alive with my Afro-European roots... Not that I wasn't intune before, but it is not the same to be living ni the UK.

I remember just before my grandad died, we went to his favourite Spanish restaurant, tucked away in one of the side streets of Madrid where no tourist could find... And as always, we sat in his favourite table. Minutes after, 2 black cubans came in....and sat down next to us for a meal...Now this might sound SO stupid, but YES, I was a little shocked! When I grew up going to Spain, I would never see a black face --if I was lucky, once in a while. So to see these 2 walking in a very cultural spanish restaurant, it made me smile.

The plan is that in a few years, I would like to revisit and live in mainland Europe, somewhere.
But until I get that chance, I'm doing my info searching...

Isn't the internet so wonderful? A whole new generation of people connecting and learning and bringing people together...

I've found quite a few portals that I would like to share:
http://www.euroafricans.com/
http://www.tomtmusic.com/id24.htm
http://www.cafedelasoul.com/
http://africana.southjerseyarts.net/resources/german1.htm
http://www.ugogurl.com/article.php?sid=22
http://www.euroafricans.com/euroafricans020x.htm
http://www.euroafricans.com/francex.htm


...notice how I seem to have a fascination with France for some reason. Hmmmm.
I was always too young to really experience France properly, so I'd like to see it in a new light.

I was talking to my 'twin' ...a really sweet girl who is half Italian and half Nigerian. It was so good to finally connect and see things through another level...She understood everything I was talking about about the issues that Europe is now going through. The fact that being an African-European has been a completely different experience in mainland Europe, than in the UK in general. Going to school in mainland Europe, breaking through a few conservative European issues and being accepted.

Times have changed --and people are forced to open their minds as cultures fuse and mix. Europe is expanding its borders and with a whole new flood of people mixing and travelling...

What a wonderful time to be in Europe!