Growing up in Ghana, my imagination of life in America was fueled by the pictures my parents took and the stories they told about their own experiences here. For my dad it was the three-month business trip he took to Los Angeles in 1989. In my mom’s case, she spent her senior year of high school as an exchange student in Sherman, New York. Their experiences coupled with what I saw in movies and TV shows gave me an impression of America that was equal parts wonder and naïveté.