Black Culture Goes WAY BEYOND Our Borders

Well, I am FINALLY narrowing down exactly how I begin to plan a real career/life out of the U.S. My plan is to start out by teaching abroad/volunteering in Africa this winter.. come back to the U.S. for grad school, head internationally for graduate school, or - depending on what opportunities develop, stay abroad. In terms of graduate school, I think I would love to be in Africa or England, so that I could truly mingle with blacks of the Diaspora in other countries. It seems to me that middle/upper class blacks are living a much more enjoyable lifestyle outside of the U.S. I'm not trying to be bougie or anything, but what I'm trying to say is blacks of a similar background to my own are living a much more enjoyable lifestyle than their American counterparts, and I want to experience that!

ANYWHO - In my constant research in everything Africa/Caribbean lol, I am constantly stumbling upon new musicians, genres of music, documentaries, news publications, black society, conflicts.. I mean, there is just such a wealth of information on the Diaspora out there. At times it is overwhelming, especially when I realize I've only been exposing myself to like 5% of the Diaspora's culture. There is so much more to be discovered about Black culture outside of the U.S.

Google some of these when you have the chance:

• Youssou N'dore's "I Bring What I Love" a documentary about a Senegalese grammy award winning singer.
  

• Kaysha, a Congolese born musician who produces all over Africa and France.

• "The Devil Came On Horseback", a documentary about a former American soldier who had a job documenting atrocities of the Janjaweed in Darfur, Sudan.

• "Without The King", a documentary about the Swaziland royal family, and how the nation is one of the few remaining monarchy's in the world. Subjects include: Swazi princess attending college in the U.S., polygamy (the king has several wives), contrasts between the royal family and the Swazi people, and much more.

I'll add some more interesting topics when it's not so late :)

Another thing is that African/West Indian (and I've probably said this before) black people are REALLY enjoying life in a lot of black nations, and a lot have no interest in moving to the first world. Black folks have real lives, and seriously tight knit communities. I'm talking grown and sexy outdoor bars, get togethers, events, just like (if not better) than what we do in the U.S.

AOL Radio African Music channel: 100% free and AMAZING. The music is excellent. I can't even describe it, you just have to listen for yourself! It's opened up an entire new world of music to me. I can't believe how much I've been missing!

• http://music.aol.com/radioguide/world-radio (click African music, the first link on the list)
  

***A little extra***

Indian/Bollywood films (which often have English subtitles, because they are done in Hindi) are EXCELLENT. Jodhaa Akbar, Veer-Zaara are two superb flicks. I'll add some more titles of these soon too.

We've got to start expanding our knowledge! Ttyl!