 What kind of perception did you have for the continent before moving in here? Okay, I wasn't necessarily one of those people who would say, you know, the stereotype of Africa, everything, everybody is poor, the kids are just running around, but naked and stuff like that. I never really had that mentality, but that's what was being fed to me on TV. It's simply five years ago I moved to Gambia. Gambia, Africa with my family and they took a visit to Gambia in 2015 and they loved it so much that literally the following year they just told me and my siblings pack up your stuff, we're heading to Gambia and we're gonna live there. Did you get interviewed? Not really. Not really. Sometimes, yes, I have a couple of interviews in the past. My last biggest one was with QTV, so that one was very exciting. Oh, okay. Yes. And now you have one of my in here. Yes. Me, I'm not going to interview you. You're going to have a deep conversation. Okay, I'm down for it. I love deep conversations. You love deep conversations. I really do. I need to spiritual to. No, I'm a very spiritual person, so I'm down for whatever. Make sure you watch to the end of this vlog. And if you're new to my channel, please, before you do anything else, make sure you give this video a big thumbs up, subscribe if you're not already. And yeah, I just hope you guys enjoy this vlog. My name is Wadamaya, and I'm the one and only annoying YouTuber from Africa. You don't know. Now you know. So yeah, I am with Ricky. Is it Ricky? Well, my real name is Rikita, but a lot of people call me Ricky or Kiki. My YouTube name is Ricky. Your dad is called Ricky. Ricky, Ricky, Ricky. So you have your dad's name. Yes, I'm named after my dad. Oh, first time seeing that. All my siblings are pretty much. Do you are living your best life in Africa or you are surviving in Africa? I'm both, as I told you both. I'm living my best life. And I'm, well, I don't want to say surviving, because that kind of gives a bad kind of connotation with it. But I will say I have learned a lot of things in terms of like getting by in life, you know. Just seeing people here who are, who have living a different lifestyle and seeing how different it is to the lifestyle in America. You know, America, everything is convenient for you. Here you have to do everything. You have to really use your brain here, because not everything is just going to be given to you. You have to go out and search for it. As I told him earlier, like an example I can give, as I always do, is like in America you have a big store like Walmart. Everything is in there. You will find everything in Walmart. Here you got to go to Saracunda. That might, that thing you're looking for might not be in Saracunda. So they'll tell you to go to this spot. That spot doesn't have it. You go here, here, here. And it's so stressful and it's things like that that really make you so much more stronger as an individual, because like, I guess you can use that in a way of like surviving, I guess, because you, you're learning ways to get by, much more ways that you would probably wouldn't even come by in America. So yeah, those things have definitely made me more stronger mentally. 15, yes. How old are you now? 21. Whoa. Yes. Which means six years of your life was spent in Africa. Yes. Is it only in the Gambia or you've been out of the Gambia too? I have been to Senegal and I have been to Guinea-Bissau. Only those places, unfortunately, because the last place we went, Corona started shortly after that. So, you know, it's been a little bit difficult, but that's not the only reason. You know, we all obviously have kind of something going on. Our project, Black Eggers at the Gambia. So, we haven't been able to really go outside of that. So, hopefully very soon we want to go. And at the top of my list is Ghana, of course, and Nigeria and Tanzania. But Ghana, y'all already know, well, any of the viewers from my channel watching this right now, you guys know I've been talking about Ghana for the longest. So, it's coming soon. Why do you always talk about Ghana? Because it's beautiful. My friend, I have a friend of mine, she used to always tell me about Ghana when we were in school and she would tell me about they had waterfalls, the wildlife, everything, and she just used to show me pictures and I'm like, this is the place I need to be. Your friend is from Ghana? She went to school in Ghana for, like, majority of her life. Aisha, shout out to Aisha. So, yes. And I have many friends also from Ghana. Are they based in Gambia? Gambia, yes, yes. So, like, I mean, if I buy you a ticket for you to go to Ghana, what do you want? Absolutely! I will go tomorrow. How many days do you want to stay in Ghana? I don't think you'll be here forever. Ah, come on! How many days do you want to stay in Ghana? I don't know. Because I don't know what is really offered in Ghana. Don't do me like this, don't... No, no, no, no. I want to stay in Ghana. Let me know. When do you want to go to Ghana? I don't know when's the best time to come and I don't know, like, because for people, you know, they say, for example, Gambia, you can't stay in Gambia for just, like, one week. You don't get all of the experience of it. I don't know when it's the best time to come, and I don't know, like, because for people, you know, they say, one week, you don't get all of the experience of it. And you want to make your monies work. So I don't know. I don't know what's all offered in Ghana, specifically, to know, like, how long I should be there and to get the... How long should I say to get the true experience of Ghana and living like a Ghanaian? Living like a Ghanaian? Yeah. I've been like, one year. Yeah. Oh. That's good! Tell me that I'm spending your trip to, you know, now. Like I'm spending your trip from Gambia to Ghana, Ghana back to the Gambia. I... Y'all, he's putting me on the spot right now. I'm doing that, yeah. So just let me know whatever you're ready. Yes. Please get back to me as soon as possible. And you're going to Ghana. We'll make sure, everywhere you're going to stay, we'll be sponsored. So all you need to do is to bring only your bag to Ghana. Yo, so not black acres of the Gambia, by the way. Hey, family, you're in Black Acres of the Gambia. My name is Rick, and this is my beautiful wife, Cynthia. Or a.k.a. sweet juicy mama. Just bring your bag to Ghana, yeah? Yes. That's all you need to do, yeah? Everything is sponsored in Ghana. I just feel like I've learned so much about not only myself, but others. Like, I've met people from so many different cultures. I've learned about so many different cultures. I've tried so many different foods from different cultures, and I really love that because if I was living in Tennessee, I probably would not have tried Benetin. Probably would have never tried Chuyapa, yeah, chicken yassa, all of this stuff. My eating habits living here have changed drastically. I feel like it's gotten much healthier. Being able to be introduced to so many different cultures and tribes right here and learning new languages that I've never heard of before is just so, I don't know, I really love that. How does it feel like being a young, how do I say, young girl or young woman or a young lady living in Africa? How does it feel like? Okay, so it's a lot I can say, because that's such a broad question, but overall it's nice. I get a lot of questions from my female viewers saying, you know, how is it being? Because, you know, some people may think, oh, you know, what they say about Africa in general, it's not safe and this and that. And I have single female viewers asking, how safe it is? Can I come there alone? And I don't want them to think like it's just like that because it really isn't like, I walked here, I walked literally here by myself and nothing happened to me and I've been doing that since I've been living here. Of course, it's always, it's about being cautious and being smart. Obviously don't go out late at night, that's anybody. I will say this, like specifically growing into adulthood, womanhood, it's very different. Like I said, I learned a lot of living here and a lot, seeing a lot of things has humbled me and I went to school here and yeah, it's just, I learned a lot. You literally grew up in the Gambia. Yes. Because I believe that when you're 15, you really don't know a lot. That's the age you're really... 18 is the main age. Yes, yes, definitely. How does it feel like being 18 in the Gambia? Like I said, I was in school at that time. I think that's the year I graduated from school actually and after that, I was a bit confused on what to do after. I'm not gonna lie about that part because a lot of people living here especially, they feel like, okay, I finished school, now do I go to Europe? Do I go to America? They all have this... I don't want to say all, so don't come for me. Many, many people here have that mentality that after I finished school here, I need to go abroad. Okay. And I don't know... That's the brother you came from. Yes, and I was kind of having that mentality and I'm like, okay, so I just came from here and I moved here. Let me just give it a chance and see how I'm liking it and just do that. And I'm glad that I did that because, of course, I have my YouTube channel now and I've seen so many different things that I haven't seen before and I just... I don't know, I just... It's just a feeling I can't put into words to be honest and I'm really glad I didn't go back because I wouldn't be where I am today. You want to stay here forever? In Gambia specifically, as of right now, I could see myself staying here, based here, yes, absolutely because, like I said, I just have this attachment to it. I grew up here mainly from 15 into my adulthood. I can't just... It's just something in me that is just so attached to me with Gambia. So that would just... Gambia will always be in my heart so I don't think I could ever live anywhere else. That's me speaking as of right now before I go to Ghana. Living here has made me feel so much more proud to be African. It's made me so proud to be in the skin that I am, so proud to be Black. I really want to understand this, like before coming in here, what kind of perception did you have for the continent before moving in here? Okay, I don't... I wasn't necessarily one of those people who would say, you know, the stereotype of Africa, everything, everybody is poor, the kids are just running around, but naked and stuff like that. I never really had that mentality but that's what was being fed to me on TV. For so long after five years, I just really cannot see myself living anywhere else. Like if it's not Gambia, it's gonna be another African country, you know. But I really cannot see myself living anywhere else other than in the motherland. Living here is just like, I just have this strong sense of belonging. You know, like I feel like I truly belong here. Like this place is for me, this is where I belong, you know, and I just feel so much more wanted and accepted living here, you know, by my fellow Africans. Initially, my parents always wanted to go back to somewhere in Africa, a country in Africa. And it was in the Gambia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, I'm sure you already spoke to them about this, but yeah, so they already wanted to go back and they took a visit, they took all these videos and pictures and showed us how it is there. And I was a bit nervous, I'm not gonna lie, because it was from their perspective and they were showing me what they wanted to show me. So I was nervous and since they showed me that I was searched like on Instagram, things about Gambia, YouTube videos on Gambia, I didn't really see videos like that. So yeah, because of that, I was very nervous and I didn't know what to expect. So yeah, it was more of just an anxious feeling and not knowing what to expect. So when I got here, of course, I seen how it is still a bit nervous and still a bit having my guard up. I met friends, went to school and went out and explored different places in Gambia and now I love it more than ever because I did that. And also because I have a YouTube channel to show the people what is here and so people who were in my position before who didn't know what to expect, now they know what to expect and they can see it from a teenager's perspective. Is that an inspiration behind our YouTube channel? Hey everybody, welcome or welcome back to my channel. My name is Akita. As you guys can see by the title, I'm going to be letting you guys know today all the things you can do once you're in Gambia, if you're coming here for the first time or if you're here and you just don't really even know what you can do in Gambia. So if you're interested in seeing what to do for fun in Gambia, then please keep watching. Absolutely, absolutely because you know, is very, you already get enough on TV, people showing the negative aspect of Africa. Oh yes, there is poverty here, but there is also poverty in America. There is also poverty in the UK and all these places. If not even more that they don't want to show you. So that's what really pushed me to make my YouTube channel because like I'm seeing these big, big mansions here and I'm like, these are bigger than the ones in America and they're probably half the price of the ones in America. So it's things like that that I really want to show to people in America and people in the UK who have that mindset that all you're going to be doing is living in huts because that was one major thing someone had said to me before leaving when I told them I was going to be moving to a country in Africa. They was like, oh, you're going to be living in a hut. You ain't going to be having stuff to eat. Like, how are you going to survive there? And I'm like, if only they see my YouTube channel and see what is happening here. They haven't said nothing to me since. You know, she has a YouTube channel with over 49,000 subscribers. I think she has done an amazing job putting Kambi on the map. But you know how we always do it? Since I'm here, we have to surprise it. And how do we surprise it? How many subscribers do you want? Well, I would love to get to 50,000. I'm almost there. Nah, I mean. Well, by the end of this year? By the time I upload this video, I think you already reach 50,000. But after I upload this video, can we surprise them with 10,000 new people? Yes. Go to the channel, go subscribe. Be part of the 60,000 followers. Yes. And I believe that this year, can easily hit 100K. That was what I was going to say. My goal at the end of the year is 100,000. You are in the Gambia right now. Yes. I guess all your friends are Gambians. Not all. I have a good mix of all them, but majority of them, yes, are Gambians. Because as I said, I made a majority of my friends in school. Sabeck, which is a Gambian. The school that you attended was a Gambian school. It was international, but majority of them were Gambian. I didn't really see many international people. But of course they speak, I guess they were Gambians who went abroad and then came back, if that makes sense. So that's why it's international because the main things we were learning that was international was French. So, Senegalese, I guess. What is your favorite thing to do in the Gambia? Things like this, walking on the beach. Because in Tennessee, we don't have no beaches. So this is my favorite thing, just walking on the beach. Safe to walk along the beach like this in the Gambia? In the daytime? Yes. In the nighttime? No. But why would you come and walk along the beach at nighttime? Exactly. It's always common sense, of course. But in daytime, absolutely, yes. It's safe. Of course you have people coming by and asking if you want to buy this, or of course we have beggars here, which is not always pleasant to see. But you will come across that if you're walking on the beach alone. Your favorite meal? My favorite Gambian meal? Gambian dish would have to be chou ganar. That is my all-time favorite, favorite Gambian dish. I could eat that morning, day, and night. Like, I would eat that until I get tired of it, which I probably won't even get tired of it. It's just so good. And it's like a sweet, tangy, spicy type of flavor with the onion sauce. You can have it with chicken, which is chou ganar, or you can have it with meat or beef, which is chou yapa. So, yeah, that chou is so good. That makes sense. Yeah, it's very good. I had that yesterday. Maybe chou yapa. Like, how can you just give me chicken alone with veggies and that's it? No rice, no food, nothing. That must not be it, because the one thing that I'm talking about is served with rice, and it's like a tomato kind of paste type of dish. It's so good, y'all. My favorite, I can eat it morning, day, and night. And chicken yassa. Oof, I love chicken yassa. Chicken yassa. Yes. I mean, we have so many young Africans like they're self-watching us right now. If you have something to tell them, what would you tell them? I would tell them, you guys, you just need to see it for yourself. If you're watching here and you haven't even been on the continent yourself, and you have certain ideas of what Africa is like, you can't really see anything because you haven't been here yourself. So, my advice would be to just get on over here and at least visit. You don't have to live here, but at least just see how it is, because you can't just keep going based off what you see from my own YouTube channel. You got to experience it yourself, and you got to experience it yourself, not just by watching only his videos, you know? Come and see it yourself. 21, how do you make money to survive in the Gambia? I know you're here with your parent. Of course, yes. Your parent has a second girl for you? Yes, I live in their house, but of course I have my own money. Don't get twisted. I am putting towards and helping them out with the monthly stuff, but let me just say you asked me how it is making money here. I have a couple of videos talking about things I've did to make money on the side, like side hustles, I should say, but one major thing here that is an issue is proper paying jobs. And as I said earlier, you always have those people who just finished school, they feel like now all they can do is just go outside of Gambia for work. And that is where the problem starts, because you keep having that mentality and then it would just say that the same way, there would be no proper jobs if you keep feeling you have to go outside of Gambia. So, yeah, I feel like to make money here, you really have to be smart, you know? You really have to know, how should I say it? Like street smart, you know? And not just book smart, because there's a lot of people here who have not went to school and are making a lot of money. So, right now, of course, you know, YouTube pays, and I am working at a hotel as well. I'm working at Sunset Beach Hotel, and I'm doing that. So, and like I said, if you know people, that also helps as well, like networking and things like that, to get jobs here in Gambia. But it's not that easy getting jobs, because I have a lot of my friends who are my age, and they always keep saying, you know, it's hard to get jobs. You know, in America, you can go to McDonald's just like that. As long as you got, what, a diploma, and you can be hired. Here is, from my experience, because it wasn't that easy to find a job. Like, I just started my first job ever, being here after six years, because I knew somebody, and they were like, this is open. I know you're into this type of stuff, so they're hiring if you like that. So, thankfully, because of that, I had the opportunity. And of course, I help with my parents, and, you know, they- I'm such a fake. Yeah, so I help out with that. So, yeah. And eventually, I would be going out and working out there, and doing jobs out in my parents' land project. So. And why should someone visit a Gambia? Because this, from my videos, like, they speak for themselves, to be honest. Sometimes I would just show a video, and I don't even say nothing, because literally, like, the scenery, things just speak for themselves. As you can see, it's so beautiful, so peaceful here, and things, you just go at your own pace here. You can just relax, unwind, and the people are so friendly. That is, like, the top thing of my list. You're never alone and never, like, you're always having someone there to help you, because people here are so friendly, like, so friendly. It's not even real. This is like the Gambia is the smiling course of home. Absolutely. And they live up to that name. Like, you can go out. Everybody will- You cannot go out, and nobody will not speak to you. There will always be someone to say hello. How was the family? How was the day? So, I really love that about here. Okay, guys. I just met them at the beach. I just told them about my YouTube channel and everything. They're so kind. They just came up to us and said, we're beautiful and they want to be our friend and everything. You see how easy it is to make friends here. Thank you so much for talking to me. I really appreciate your time. Thank you. And, um, yeah, we'll see each other in gone. Thank you. Thank you. Subscribe and be part of the YouTube family. And, uh, I don't know what to tell you again, man. Today, I'm wearing shoe on. I'll sign up with my stylist. Thank you. Bye. Bye.