Africa as an ancestral home is a prominent theme among African Americans. Many have sojourned to Africa in the hopes of establishing a cultural or spiritual connection with the continent. This essay investigates the ways in which African Americans encounter African culture and space. Specifically, this is an auto-ethnographic essay that details the author’s diasporic identity transformation as a result of visiting the West African nation of Burkina Faso. Enabled by educational courses and through a living arrangement with a host family, the author establishes how Burkina Faso became a surrogate home.