I’m moving to a dot com!!!

Hey loyal readers (the 2 poor souls out there that read this blog) I’ve decided to move to a dot com so make sure you update your links (homepage and RSS feed). Content here will still be available but for new material please go to http://imanafricaninny.com . My feed at feedburner.com stays the same: http://feeds.feedburner.com/wordpress/MgzH . See you there!

African Beauty “au Naturel” Winner

That’s it folks let the winner be known, enough with the suspense already right ? In spite of the low turnout of participants – 10 only – myself and the rest of the judges (including my mother, and no I don’t live with her, anyway wtf do you care…so piss off) still had a hard time picking out the winner, since all participants were so beautiful!

So the winner of the 3 gift cards (Best Buy, Target and iTunes) is none other than the enchanting Chioma. More about her below. Many thanks to those who participated and great week-end to all. See ya @ the Shrine tonight maybe?

Name: CHIOMA
Nationality: Nigeria
Occupation: Nursing Student
Hobbies: Debating, Reading
Age: 24

A little about me: As stated earlier, I am from Nigeria. I moved to the United States 10 years ago with my family to pursue my education. Currently, I am in my final year as a nursing student at Lehman College. My interest include promoting the African culture, meeting new people and learning about things that I do not know.

An African Face in NY: Barima

As promised here’s the first profile of an African Face in NY series. I ask the questions, he answers

Dude what’s your name?

Barima Kodjo Asante-Sakyi III

Where you’re from?

Born & raised in Accra, Ghana. Also raised in NYC.

What do you do in NY?

Baruch College graduate, currently working as an IT Analyst at Citigroup. I like to sometimes call myself a connoisseur of music, (expect maybe country)

How long have you been living in NY?

4.5 years, since I started college.

What do you think of Vanity Fair latest issue on Africa? (if you read it of course):

WONDERFUL. It’s about time the world sees Africa for what it has accomplished, and not for its images of AIDS victims, famine, and Darfur. Kudos to Bono!

The last word (anything you’d like to add):

Live life to the fullest. In other words, whatever you do in life, make sure you do it “AVEC CLASSE”!!

African Beauty: Contest Update

Just a quick update on the contest. It’s been extended and its winner will be known this Friday 6/29. The object on the contest is to crown the most beautiful African beauty wearing no make-up, totally “au naturel”. Once in a while I’ll have these types of contests on here, you know just for fun. Ok then check back Friday for the winner. In the meantime here’s a pick at one of the contestants. Hmm hmm, jolie jolie n’est-ce pas?

Video of the Week: Premier Gaou

Go to any African party anywhere and there’s a 80% chance you’ll hear this song! Yep, almost 10 years after this Magic System song was released (at the peak of the Zouglou era), it is still one the people’s favorites, a classic you might to call this one!

The second part of the video features Meiway, another Ivorian artist, creator of the Zoblazo 

Go back to Africa?

The million dollar question isn’t it? It’s probably been at some point if the journey that is your life has landed you thousands of miles away from the place you call home. The question seems to be du jour among Africans young and old living in the US and Europe. Many of us have left our homeland for various reasons, education and voluntary emigration being the most common (just a guess, calm down). Whatever your reasons or circumstances for leaving, I’m pretty sure you’ve contemplated after a while living permanently in the West (if it wasn’t your initial intent to begin with). Sure you can give me a myriad of reasons why life in the West is preferable to life home but amid some positive changes that are taking place throughout Africa, I believe we must consider the possibility of going back to make our contribution. For too long I’ve been hearing from people and reading around the African blogosphere criticism of African countries, their leaders and what have you. Those are the same people who have been

Bon Appetit: Destination Ethiopia

Here’s another one in the Bon Appetit series (get used to it!). I left the African west coast this week-end to venture in the eastern side of the continent, at least in terms of cuisine. If you don’t already know, I dedicated my week-ends this summer to African food, from all corners of the continent. You can read about it here. So yesterday I headed down to this Ethiopian restaurant called Meskerem (468 W 47th St, between 9th & 10th Ave). It is a couple of blocks away from the more popular Queen of Sheba but I have a habit of rooting for the underdog (no I didn’t pick the Cavs to win the NBA championship!!!). You can tell from the moment you step into Meskerem that it is a bit rundown but that’s no turn off (whatever, you’re here for the food right?). The décor is ok as it is very minimalist to my taste but like I said: “whatever I’m here for the food”. As the waitress walked away with our orders I started noticing something odd at the other tables, or rather the absence of something. Yes no silverware here as Ethiopians are accustomed to eating with their hands, which is also common in Africa when it comes to dishes such as fufu, foutou banane (talk about finger food). You also have the option of literally sharing a plate with your guests, simply meaning that you eat from the same plate. Keep one thing in mind though when you order Ethiopian: the presentation of the food is very different! Don’t expect the same portions of beef or lamb you would get from a West African restaurant for instance:-D. My reaction (ghetto as some may call it) was “whoa son! Where the meat at?” It was a nice experience though, and at least now I’m a little more familiar with Ethiopian cuisine and will know what to expect the next time. There are few Ethiopian restaurants in the city (mostly Manhattan), just run a Google search to find them (you didn’t expect me to do that for you now you little buggers .