 Welcome back to the YouTube channel, it's your favorite village boy Mr. Ghana baby, right here in Namibia. I don't even know how to pronounce it but I definitely know that she knows where we are. Where are we now? Do you know her? Like seriously, I can't believe that I'm meeting you. If you're talking about the pioneers between moving to Africa, I think you are the one who started it. Oh, thank you. Oh, no. Don't act as if you don't know because I used to watch you six years ago way back in China. I mean, I was looking for Africans from, I mean born in America, moving back to the continent and you are the only person that I found on the internet. Wow. And then I think after four years I also found the traveling sister in Tanzania. Yeah. How many years now? I've been in Namibia since December of 2010. 12 years in Africa, so I guess now you're in Namibia. Just about, yeah. I married in Namibia and I've birthed in Namibia. I really wanted to know what brought you to Africa in the first place. I wanted to experience life on the continent of my ancestors. Literally, that's what brought me here. Before I moved to Namibia, I spent some time living in Barbados in the Caribbean, which is where my mother's side of the family is from. And after I came back from Barbados, I still had the travel bug. And so the next step up obviously from the Caribbean was the motherland. And so that's why I basically came here. I just have always felt a strong connection with my ancestors and always had this travel bug instinct in me. And that's how I ended up here, basically. You're born in America. Yes. I'm part of America. New York. New York City actually is where I was born. New York City. Why would you live in New York City and come to me? She's not even staying in the capital city because the first time that I saw you in the north. Yeah. Yeah. When I first moved here, I lived in northern Namibia, close to the border of Namibia and Angola, which I understand you will be visiting soon. You'll see it's drastically different than even here and definitely different than the capital city. And then, so I've lived in the north and then I've also lived in the capital city, which is Vintuck. And now I live in Ochiwarango, which is about two and a half hours north of Vintuck. But I love your village videos though, your morning routine in the village. I used to watch you wear it back. So let me know. You've been living here for 12 good years. How is life in here? When I first moved here, I was on a high of just being in another country. But the truth is, I think no matter how excited you are to live abroad, at some point just the realities and the ups and downs of living in another country on another continent set in. And that's just the reality of living in another country. It's not always easy. It's constant cultural adjustment from just especially coming from New York City and living here. There's a big difference obviously. So in general, how is life though? Life is up and down. I go through highs and I go through lows. It can be challenging, especially raising kids in a completely different society where just there isn't as much available, for example, like in my town. So I had to really adjust my expectations of what motherhood would be like, for example. There aren't many playgrounds, for example, in my town. That's just something simple that I would like to have my son, take my son and two or whatever. But overall, I would say life in Namibia has been just like a beautiful surprise. So I never as a child at least thought that I would be living in Africa. I'm the first person in my family to do this. And so although it comes with challenges, it's an opportunity that I really have to try not to take for granted because so many African-Americans don't have this experience. And so even in my most challenging moments, I am thankful. I am grateful for this opportunity. And it's always a learning experience, you know, constantly. So I would say, yeah, it's a learning experience. It's brought me, you know, a whole Namibian family. You know, my kids are Namibian, you know, African-Americans, whatever you want to. I call them diaspora babies or whatever, because they're mixed with so much. You know, like, yeah, they don't know that you actually married a Namibian. Yeah, exactly. I didn't marry a Namibian. Continental African and African in a diaspora. Yeah, exactly. Namibian is going to be a Continental diaspora baby. Exactly. I like that. Yeah, but I just want to know, yeah, before coming to Namibia, you ever had any perception about a continent, Africa that, like, kept on holding you back? That, hey, Africa, I don't think I will ever step my foot there. I mean, you ever had any perception about a continent before moving here? For the most part, no. Because I spent, because my mother's side of the family is from Barbados, a predominantly black country in the Caribbean. And I had spent time visiting Barbados growing up, and then I even lived there for, like, a year or year and a half. I had experience and exposure and understood that there's more to life than just America. And black countries can function, and it's not that negative stereotype of, like, chaos and, like, poverty. You know, like, I mean, of course, there is poverty here. But because of my experiences and ancestry in Barbados, I didn't come with many of those stereotypes. But I know that I have met many Americans that, because they didn't have the experience and the heritage that I have, come to Namibia with those kinds of negative perceptions and get their, you know, their whole mind blown when they come, and it's the way it is, you know? So for me, for the most part, no. You know, I was very prepared just based off of my experiences in the Caribbean. Do you regret moving to Namibia? Definitely not. No, no, no, no, no. Is it always easy? No. But do I regret it? No. This is, like I was saying, I'm the only person that I know of on both sides of my family to live on the African continent, you know? And I mean, I'm sure you've kind of heard the conversation, but I'm well aware of how many African Americans want to experience life and would love to move to Africa. So it's a blessing, you know? And I feel like my ancestors led me here and that's not something that I take for granted that, I mean, there's so many of my ancestors, the ones that were taken from, like, West Africa, that would have loved to come back to Africa and never got that chance. How could I regret moving here when I had that opportunity, you know? Which means you have a message for the fellow brothers and sisters who are looking forward to move to the continent or even visit. If you have a message for them, what would that message be? My message would be don't let the negative stereotypes prevent you from coming here. Don't let negative conversations about things like diaspora wars. I don't know if you hear about those, you know, just these, these, like, contentious conversations and debate on the internet between, like, Africans and African Americans and Britain, Black Britons and West Indians in the Caribbean. Like, don't fall hype to that sort of negative energy. Those conversations are, you can have, those conversations can be had, but there's a lot of negativity attached to those conversations and you'll see people say things like, oh, like, Africans don't want us there. That's not true, you know? And so don't fall victim to a lot of this internet conversation. Come and see for yourself. Talk to people for yourself, you know? Because there are a gazillion people on the African continent and so you can't generalize them all based off of what people are saying, you know, people are arguing about on the internet, you know? And so that's really my advice. But I think I've also been hearing these whole stereotypes that Africans don't like African Americans. I mean vice versa. But you've been here. You've experienced the real Africa. People in here, how did that treat you? Right. You know, for the most part, I'm welcomed, you know? Let's be real, I'm not for everyone. Not everyone is going to like me. That's the fact. And that's not exclusive to Namibia, you know? That's something that I experience in America, you know? So, but for the most part, I've been really welcomed warmly. My mother-in-law, her English is not great and yet we have an amazing bond. She is a phenomenal woman, you know? And even though I grew up so vastly different, she treats me, you know, she's amazing. My husband's late grandfather, who passed away when he was 101, I found out we even have the same birthday. But I met him and he was blind and didn't speak hardly any English, was so always considerate and conscientious of me. This is someone in the north, in the village, you know? And we are obviously completely different, you know? And so, and then even like people recognize me from my YouTube channel, Namibians all the time. And they're always like just coming up to me and introducing themselves. Really, really nice people, you know? So, for the most part, I've been really welcomed and thank you Namibia, you know? Really well, honestly. Thank you Namibia for coming out, sister, for the diaspora, but no, I mean, I always say, you're just an African born in America. That's right, thank you. Welcome back to the mother-in-law. Thank you, I appreciate it. But I wanna know why. We're probably cousins, honestly. Exactly. Coming from Ghana, yeah, exactly. Have you ever been to Ghana? No, but I want to. Yeah, I would like to to Ghana. Definitely. When do you wanna come? As soon as COVID has passed. No, I wanna buy you a ticket to Ghana. Okay. Roundaway ticket. Are you serious? No, I mean- You must be balling. No, I wanna buy you a roundaway ticket. Okay. You have no idea, like how I cherish you so much. Wow, thank you. No, like to be honest, I was watching you way back in China. Okay. And I'm like when will I get a chance to meet you? Because I feel like you started a whole revolution that people are not even giving you the credit. Thank you. That coming from you, like I told him earlier, coming from him, that means a lot because he's doing the damn thing. No. Trailblazing, the pioneer. For me, I'm just a messenger. But for her, she started it. She started it like, yo, you all should give her the credit. Thank you. I mean, can we all give her a round of applause in the comment section? Thank you, thank you. And let us know why you started your YouTube channel in the first place. Yeah, I started my YouTube channel because like you, I was, as I was preparing to move here, I started Googling and researching like what is life in Namibia? Like what is life in Africa likes? But specifically for a black foreigner. And I wasn't finding that information. All of the content was from white foreigners. Exactly. And that was the thing. Yeah, all of the blogs, and there wasn't that much in terms of YouTubers back then in 2010, but all of the content was from white foreigners, which I found incredibly frustrating because I knew that their experience in Africa would be vastly different from mine as someone of African descent, you know? And so I started to just chronicle my experience right before I moved here and then right, and then when I got here. And I just started, you know, just blogging and sharing my experience and wanting to fill that gap, that void. And so when, it just started to take off. People found it, you know, really interesting, particularly black people, obviously, found it interesting. And then I started, from YouTubing my own experiences, I started connecting with other African-Americans that were living on the continent. And I started interviewing them, and that's, I also have my website. And so I started publishing interviews with other African-Americans that were living around the continent so that I could provide a much more, you know, well-rounded perspective, not just Namibia, but also what is it like for others, you know? And so that's, you know, just trying to fill a void that was direly needed, you know, basically is why I started it. And you completely vanished. It's been a year, like, I was sending you messages that I'm coming to Namibia, no response, and then I had to look for you. Thank you. So I had to contact so many people. And finally, they called me a contact. Okay. And I'm like, okay, I made it. Wherever she is, I need to find her. So why, are you coming back anytime soon? I am. Okay, I have a big announcement. You know what it is. No, I don't know. Unless you tell them. You saw what it is. I didn't see anything in the book. I didn't see anything. I was gonna save it for my channel to tell them. No, tell them, tell them. I think you're trying to exploit my situation. I have no idea what she's talking about. Well, okay, no, I had, okay, I just gave birth in January, January 25th to my second child. Yeah, who you guys will meet. I guess you should. Yeah, you know how we do it. It's by force, yeah. See, you guys go to her YouTube channel and go and subscribe. She's the pioneer of Africans in America moving to Africa. No one would take that from you. I mean, I have to pretend that because we need to let the world know that you are the one. That's really decent. In 2010, I think in 2010, I was not even, I was in Ghana that time. I went to China in 2013. So I discovered you five years ago. Right. And I can't believe I'm here with you. Thank you. You've inspired so many people. I think I even had a comment from one guy called Veins of Africa. He's like, Maya, don't leave Namibia without looking for her. Thank you. Thank you. So I just want to say, you're an inspiration. Please let me get your ticket to Ghana in an out accommodation. If you're serious, okay. No. You really must be ballin' if you can make that. No, no, no. I just want to tell you that I want to do that for you. Are you serious? I'm still looking. Junkie. I don't believe it. No, you want to go to Ghana. Just let me know. Okay. Just sign right now. Thank you. That's really amazing. Because you know, they say, they say exactly, they say most of the slaves that were taken to Barbados came from Ghana, you know, and so I was playing. So you just have to visit Ghana. Definitely. Because I feel like Namibia is not, I'm sorry, it's not too Africanized. That's why I'm trying to go to the North. Shots fired. No, that's why I'm trying to go to the North to see if I will feel like I'm in Africa You will. And you will. You will. And you'll understand my husband. You know, you will. Yeah. Tell us how you met your husband though. Ah, the school that I, so when I first moved here, I came as a volunteer teacher and he joined the staff about six months after I started teaching as like a relief teacher. And that's how we met. You know, he was just, it wasn't like he was Namibian and I was American. It was just very seamless. You know, he gets me, I get him. There was really not a cultural adjustment. You know, I don't know. That's why it was like maybe ordained by the ancestors, you know, because it's just, we're very similar. We both studied media and anyway, but he's just, he's a gentleman. You know, he's an amazing father. A very thoughtful person. You know, his mother just really did a great job. And so we hit it off. Yeah. You know, they got married in Namibia. I think I watched the video too. So yeah, I think you're watching this video on your screen. That's the wedding between and the husband. I just want to tell you that you've been amazing. Thank you. People inspiring people. Thank you. Please come back soon. And now you live in Africa. Do you believe that Africa is the future? Oh, definitely. You know, every, I mean, just, they call it the last frontier, you know, but I mean, you can see there's the Chinese and there's, you know, which is a whole nother conversation. And I mean, everything else is so, not everything else, but a lot of people just want to come here. You know, the diaspora, even Africans are in the diaspora wanting to move back. There's just so much opportunity here, you know, the people, you know, overall just very special and unique. And of course, this is in my opinion and what many of these historians say, the birthplace of humanity. Exactly. It starts here and it's going to end here. You know, so. Whoa. That's deep. It starts here and it ends here. You know, find a message to everyone watching us and that will be great. You know, again, like I'm really big on uniting, on the diaspora, the African diaspora uniting, pushing aside all of those, like I said, diaspora wars and different parts of the diaspora, bickering, you know, I'm not into that. That's not my thing. And that's why, of course, I would do an interview with him. And that's why I started YouTubing to unite the diaspora, not just for African Americans, but just to teach us about each other or give us a platform for us to get to know each other. And so that's my biggest message is that we have so much, obviously you see there's a lot of challenges that people of African descent face around the planet, around the globe, but united, we have so much power, you know, and I think this is an example. And so that's my message is that we really need to unite and stop, you know, just try to avoid the bickering. We can learn about each other, we can iron out those differences in a sensitive, caring, understanding way, you know? And so that's my message is just us uniting so that we can start to really overcome and help each other out around the world. You've been in Africa for so long, so definitely I know that if I give you the chance to change one thing in Africa, what will you change? There's this issue of corruption and it's not unique to Africa. It's not unique to African countries, but what I see happening is it's leaving the majority and the masses out of fulfilling themselves and their potential because resources are being squandered by, you know, a wealthy elite, you know? And that's a problem. Yeah, that's not unique to Africa, but I just can see a lot of potential being squandered and a lot of people, a lot of Africans being left behind. The people that need the most are being forgotten and left behind for the interests of a wealthy elite, you know? And that to me is disappointing because I did come here with this perception of like Africans, black people looking out for each other, you know, and with a lot of corruption and a lot of black people just looking out for themselves and not for, you know, those back home or whoever. So that's something I would change. That's something I would change. I wanna say thank you so much for talking to me and I really appreciate your time. Thank you so much. Keep up the good work. Thank you. I would give you a hug, but, you know. Ah, no. We can't do that. No, no. Yeah.