Episode 4 of Coming From America just aired, and one common theme seems to be emerging. In Coming From America, a family of four immigrates from the United States to try life in Africa. The concept is similar to “90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way” as the family travels and lives abroad. The main difference between the shows is that most families don’t focus on finding love. Instead, they are packing up their children and transitioning careers while hoping for an authentic experience in Ghana.
As the stars of Coming From America settle in Africa, they all discover that the old adage “The grass is always greener on the other side” is true. When the family decided to move to Africa, they didn’t know exactly what to expect since most of them had never left the United States. They wanted to connect spiritually with their “homeland” and live happy and healthy lives in Ghana. Unfortunately, however, families are realizing that the image they have in their heads may not be what they receive.
Families from America realize life in Africa won’t be easy
Image via HBO Max
When my family packed up our bags and bought our plane tickets, we had no idea what to expect. However, they had some plans and goals, and as the season progressed, they realized that achieving those goals was not as easy as they thought. Single mother Julia Jovone-Davies continues to date African men but has yet to find a suitable place to start her business. Although the Smileys are the only family members with jobs, his wife, Elaine, is not working and spending money, adding further stress to the transition.
Then there’s the Kelly family, who appeared on season 16 of America’s Got Talent. They seem to have the biggest hurdle to overcome. Parents Gerald and Ramara are having trouble in their marriage. They’re also a family of comedians, with son and father working together to create some of the best stand-up seen on America’s Got Talent. But appealing to the African fan base proved more difficult than they had expected. Gerard argues that for comedy to be truly funny, it’s important to have a type of person you can relate to, but it’s difficult for Americans to empathize with African life.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones are considering returning to the United States.
Unfortunately, the three newlyweds aren’t the only ones facing turmoil. Ayo and Tony Jones had been in Africa for two years before their family of three arrived. The Jones family was a huge inspiration for the Kelly family. The Jones family experienced life in Africa and highlighted the lessons learned and cultural differences in their blogs. These videos helped the Kelly family prepare and get excited about life in Africa. As Ramala pointed out in her confessional, Ayo and Tony seemed to have a perfect marriage and a perfect life in Africa. From the outside, they looked perfect and as if they had everything figured out.
However, the wives went drinking with the men, and both learned that the Jones family might return to the United States. It turns out Ayo isn’t that excited about Africa anymore. She struggled to buy everyday necessities like bras and food. Her children were missing out on “real” educational experiences and she wanted to spend more time with her mother. The news surprised America’s Got Talent contestants. Considering how well-organized the Jones family looked from the outside, they realized it was just a facade. As a result, the Kellys believed that if Jones couldn’t win, neither could they.
Overall, since the show is new, neither the family nor the viewers know what will happen in Africa, but that adds an interesting element to the series. Although the families had some goals and ideas based on role models and friends living abroad, they still continued to draw on most of their own experiences. So it was interesting to watch the family try to move in one direction, only to find that their experiences don’t turn out as planned. After all, the purpose of this experiment is to see how well families fare abroad, and so far the results have been surprising.
‘Coming From America’ airs Thursdays on HBO Max in the US
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