African Dot American
Bonkiyo grew up in a Sierra Leonean family in the Washington, DC area. To the surprise and disappointment of many a disheartened teacher, colleague, and potential love interest over the years, Bonkiyo neither speaks French nor Portuguese. This is because despite the misleadingly exotic undertones implied by its name, Sierra Leone was a British colony. Probably as a way of compensating for having such an underwhelming mother tongue, she picked up Spanish and Arabic along the way. Now, a 30-something millennial, Bonkiyo has lived in different parts of the world and still manages to use her passport 2-3 times a year.
Living and learning about new places and cultures is fantastic, but the Washington, DC Metro area is the only place she ever truly calls "home." At the same time, Bonkiyo is firmly rooted in her Sierra Leonean-American identity. The greatest example of this is perhaps her solidly well reasoned, logical, and completely objective reasons for why Salone Jollof is the best.
Naana is a wonderfully delectable mix of Ghanaian and American sauce. She grew up in Accra and the Washington, DC metro area. Though she has spent most of her teenage and adult life in the U.S., she still maintains a part of her Ghanaian identity through language, culture, and the Ghanaian-American community. With a heavy Ghanian accent and a
love for learning about different cultures, Naana spent her teenage years navigating and immersing herself into the American culture. She is adamant she sounds completely American when she speaks, but some claim they can detect an accent. Through it all, she is still working on grasping some of the American colloquialisms.
Naana is well aware of her co-host’s delusions grandeur and bias when it comes to the Salone Jollof. It is a fact that when it comes to Jollof and Afrobeats, Ghana is the best.