Category: Lifestyle

  • My 10 Days In Benin: West African Kizomba Festival, Cotonou, Ganvie, Ouidah, Graffiti Wall

    My 10 Days In Benin: West African Kizomba Festival, Cotonou, Ganvie, Ouidah, Graffiti Wall

    I’m in Benin! Bonjour! This was my first time and I have a fun adventure to share with you. I attended the West African Kizomba Festival, featuring dance workshops by instructors/ dancers from across West Africa, and dance parties. Also explored the cities Ouidah, Ganvie, and Cotonou, featuring slavery history, the biggest city on water in Africa, the Graffiti Wall, and sites/ information that were the direct inspiration for the movie The Woman King.

    If you know me, you know I have wanted to explore the world, including more of Africa. But, in particular, explore beyond tourism and incorporate more community and fun. I’m so grateful I got the chance to experience this in Benin. This is also my first time sharing with you one of my hobbies: social dancing. I started learning Kizomba and Salsa in Accra around September/ October 2021. Dance has always been a love of mine since I was a kid doing ballet, tap, jazz, folkloric, drill team, and Hip Hop. I had always wanted to learn ballroom dancing, but never had the chance. So, a number of my inner children and inner teens have been very happy with me being consistent with social dancing. Not only for the dancing but also for the community and the new fun experiences that come with it.

    ENG: For my French speakers, please turn on the captions for the video and select settings to translate to French. I made sure to include subtitles to make this video more accessible to you. (All my videos include subtitles like this, if you feel inspired to explore the other content)

    FR: Pour mes francophones, veuillez activer les sous-titres de la vidéo et sélectionner les paramètres à traduire en français. Je me suis assuré d’inclure des sous-titres pour rendre cette vidéo plus accessible pour vous. (Toutes mes vidéos incluent des sous-titres comme celui-ci, si vous vous sentez inspiré pour explorer l’autre content)

    As always, share with me in the comments so we can continue the conversation.

    Arriving in Cotonou

    As I mentioned in the video, I stayed at the Golden Tulip Diplomate in Cotonou. This hotel was very nice. Great location, good customer service, and a comfortable room.

    Exploring Ouidah

    Our first-day tour was in Ouidah. We visited different monuments paying tribute to the slave history that exists here.

    Next, we visited the Door Of No Return.

    We then visited a Python Temple to learn more about the voodoo religion and culture.

    Finally, we visited a wet area village known for fish to have lunch and take a clay bath.

    Exploring Ganvie

    Our second-day tour was in Ganvie. This is the largest lake village in Africa. We spent the whole day here floating through Ganvie, had lunch, and did water bikes.

    The West African Kizomba Festival

    The main reason I came to Benin was to attend the West African Kizomba Festival. The full program includes two days of tourism and three days of dance workshops, socials, and parties. This was the 8th year they hosted this program. Harold is the founder of the festival and the OG for Kizomba in Benin. He started dancing Kizomba in 2011. Basically, everyone who knows how to dance Kizomba in Benin was probably taught by Harold. He was a wonderful host. He is pictured below picking me up at the airport.

    I took more videos than photos of the festival to be able to share more of the ambiance and experience. Big thank you to Real Ability for taking these photos below at the workshops and socials.

    Exploring Cotonou

    After the festival, we did a little more exploring on our own.

    The Amazon statue pays tribute to the Amazon warriors of the Dahomey tribe. This is the original Woman King.

    We went to the Graffiti Wall twice. The first time was early in the afternoon when we discovered it was way too hot to see the whole thing. We still got some epic photos. What do you think? Later we continued to explore the city. Big thank you to Mubarak for taking photos of and with me.

    Of course, I am wearing Bandele Muse earrings in these photos.

    We returned to Ouidah to add more to our exploration. Starting with the Zinsou Museum.

    While still in Ouidah, we visited the Sacred Forest.

    Back in Cotonou, we ate at this lovely restaurant.

    The second time we went to the Graffiti Wall was in the evening. Now we were able to take our time and indulge.

    Dancing In Accra

    As I said in the video, if you are interested in joining the social dance scene in Accra with Kizomba, check out Kizinfinity and Kizomba Queens.

    As I mentioned above, this is my first time sharing with you one of my recent hobbies: social dancing. I learned Kizomba and Salsa in Accra.

    It’s funny how reality evolves when you contribute to the internet. People connect with you during different phases of your journey, but may never experience the full masterpiece puzzle that is you.

    For some on here, you know me as the ultimate magical entertainer. For others on here, you would be shocked to discover I can moonwalk circles around you literally & figuratively. Maybe this is a great time to recognize how nuanced and complex we (definitely me) truly are. It would help to remove the box and timeline you need people to fit in.

    Anyways, social dancing is different from my other dance experience. It’s more of an energetic teleport conversation instead of solo or group formations. It can be a beautiful and fun experience, depending on your partner and venue. It’s a nice way to practice coordination, vulnerability, and balancing physically & emotionally.

    It’s fascinating to witness reactions to social dancing in Accra. Some see it as something only expats do because they only hear about Afrikiko( I don’t dance there much. So don’t come for me unless I call you 🙃). Some share in the excitement because they, too, love it and want to learn more. Some see it as evidence to label you as indecent and easy prey. Again, this is a great time to remind you….do you boo. People will think whatever they want to think regardless.

    We need a proper ballroom. A space where you can dress up to go dancing. Mingle with like-minded community. Be consistent and reliable with music, refreshments, schedules, respect, dance floor, and temperature control. I have the design ideas when you are ready to build it.

    Do you do social dancing? What’s your favorite genre?

    Thank you for supporting me and my blog.

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  • Life In Accra: Co-Working, PaGya Festival, Blogging Workshop, Fashion Business

    Life In Accra: Co-Working, PaGya Festival, Blogging Workshop, Fashion Business

    It’s vlog time. In this video, I share with you a month in my life, including living in Accra, co-working at Basecamp Initiative, volunteering at PaGya Literary Festival teaching my blogging business workshop, my sister visiting, and working with manufacturers for my fashion business Bandele Muse. Overall, it was a good and balanced month. What was your favorite part? Please share with me in the comments.

    Let’s unpack a little more about my workshop at the PaGya Literary Festival. I’m so grateful for this experience. Really appreciate the opportunity to share and guide. My blogging business workshop covered the basics plus discussed how to leverage future technology and measure success. I also provided content ideas and strategies. My participants left with content topics and secret formulas to last them a couple of months. I’m looking forward to seeing what they create.

    We also discussed some pain points that are in need of improvement. Pitching to brands in Ghana requires a unique formula, different from US-focused tutorials, because both brands and content creators are still learning their own value and how to leverage collaboration. Affiliate marketing with global brands is not easily accessible since PayPal is not available in Ghana and no equivalent has become an effective substitute yet. Freelancing is tricky as platforms like Fiverr and UpWork don’t always recognize Ghana-based bank accounts or MoMo wallets.

    I don’t see these points as obstacles. I’m sharing this with you to demonstrate what a content creator ecosystem needs. The talent and demand are here. I know some see content creators as only posting simple pretty photos or videos. We might lighten the mood (which is definitely needed now, so put some more respect on our work), but we also contribute a lot more.

    This is more than vibes. This is an industry that could generate jobs and income for people in different economic, educational, and cultural demographics. This is how you reclaim your narrative, take back ownership of your soft power, and set your price on your terms.

    As bloggers continue to improve, we also need others to fill these voids. You don’t have to be a blogger or influencer to work in the content creator space. Similar to how you don’t need to be a software engineer to work in tech. You just need to be the solution.

    What are your thoughts on the content creator industry in Ghana and Africa? Let’s continue the conversation in the comments.

  • How I Created Jewelry Packaging For Bandele Muse

    How I Created Jewelry Packaging For Bandele Muse

    Next to the product, packaging plays a big part in a brand experience. I know I am not the only one with really big ideas that always seem to take extra time to bring to reality. In this video, I share my adventure in creating sustainable jewelry packaging for my business Bandele Muse. From inspiration to navigating manufacturers locally and on Alibaba to explaining how packaging aligns with a brand. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

  • My Work Day: Creating Photos + Videos For Bandele Muse Jewelry

    My Work Day: Creating Photos + Videos For Bandele Muse Jewelry

    Let’s do something different, ok? In this video, I share with you behind the scenes what my work day looks like when I am producing photos and videos for my business Bandele Muse. In this video, I am focusing on my jewelry collection. From my morning routine, to my production setup, to the end results, here is what a content creator and business owner workday can look like for me.

    Would you like to see more content like this? Let me know in the comments what you would like to see.

    The makeup I used in this video includes the following:

  • Why I Use Flodesk For My Newsletter

    Why I Use Flodesk For My Newsletter

    Are you looking for a platform to create your newsletter? Are you wondering what type of content you should make for your newsletter? I did a lot of searching and experimenting before choosing a platform for my newsletter. In this video, I share why I use Flodesk for my newsletter and a breakdown of how I produce content for my newsletter. I have been using Flodesk for over a year and can attest to how it has enhanced my creation and community experience for me and my business.

    If you are interested in using Flodesk, go ahead and use my link to sign up and get 50% off your 1st-year subscription: https://flodesk.com/c/BANDELEMUSE

  • Who Does The African Luxury Rebrand Benefit

    Who Does The African Luxury Rebrand Benefit

    Who does the “African luxury” rebrand benefit? What is the “why” behind the overall rebranding we all are doing? Is it for us or the foreign gaze? Does it provide an economic benefit or return? In this video, I discuss these questions and share my thoughts. I feel it can benefit a lot of us, depending on how we navigate it. Let me know what you think.