After living here for four months, and almost being on my way out, I thought I’d share what Ghana is to me. I’ve learned a lot (outside the classroom, of course) and this is what I have gathered. But despite what I love and dislike about Ghana, (trust me, there have been rough patches in our relationship, but we got through them!) it is all uniquely Ghana. It is the things that I can’t stand about Ghana that I’ve learned to adapt to, laugh off, and come to love. When my friends went to their 3.30 Dance Final and I heard that the professor didn’t show up until 4.30 and that only half of the class were actually able to perform because there wasn‘t enough time, and that no one was informed that not everyone would be going until they had already waited 5 hours, my roommate came home fuming, and all I could say was, “Wow, but don‘t you love Ghana!? Come on you gotta love it.” And we just laughed at the ridiculous inefficiency of this school, and at ourselves for ACTUALLY being surprised. So what is Ghana?
-It’s a place where you can order 50 cents of food and you still have left-overs (this only applies to traditional Ghanaian cuisine of course!).
-It’s a place where you can’t plan anything because you don’t what’s going to happen.
-It’s a place where life moves so slowly that it even has a name for it: “Ghana time.” By the second day in this country, we were already well aware of this “Ghana time.” Orientation would require us to be on the bus at 7am, yet we would never leave before 8.30. What were we waiting for? We never knew. When a Ghanaian says see you in 30 minutes, it means 2 hours. My textile class was 12.30 to 4.30, yet after a few times of showing up on time I realized, why on earth was I on time when class never really got going before 1.30? So I started going at 1 and even then I’d be waiting for an hour before I did anything!
-Efficiency. A word not analogous with Ghana culture. The way things are set up just don’t make sense and it’s the little things. Papers not being alphabetized when you need to search for a certain one in particular. Being required in my textile class to wash all the bowls and scrub the floors when we are about to start using everything again to dye our fabric. Or the Final Exam schedule in which your Final times are not organized by the time of your lecture (ie. All Tuesday classes at 12.30-2 have the same final exam time as to avoid Final conflicts), but instead are organized semi-randomly.
-It’s a place where the customer is not always right. It’s a place where if you find a bug (or two!) in your food, there is no returning it and getting a complimentary replacement. No, instead the question becomes, ’How much do I want this?’ From my experiences, we all just pick it out, shrug it off, and continue our meal. Why? Because the workers will do nothing for you. They don’t care, unless you want to buy another. So we adapt and deal with it.
-It’s a place where running water is infrequent, power is erratic, and heated water is practically non-existent. When I leave campus, I assume there won’t be running water or power unless proven differently, and heated water? Not even a concept worth considering!
-It’s a place where if you walk any faster than a saunter Ghanaians look at you and ask “Obruni, what’s the hurry?!” I attribute the slow and relaxed atmosphere to the heavy heat. It’s just too hot to care, or to move that quickly. And really, what’s the hurry? With Ghanaian Time, nothing is ever on time, so you might as well enjoy what’s around you!
-It’s a place where you can buy anything on the street. ANYTHING. The second day here, one of my orientation guides told us, “You can buy anything in traffic.” What did he mean? Well I didn’t fully understand until being here for some time. Items that can be purchased from someone’s head on the street? Food: Plantains, oranges, bread, yoghurt, doughnuts, cooked rice, meat pie. Clothing: bras, underwear, international jerseys, cowboy hats, shoes. And other sundries: weight scales, toothbrushes, DVDs, toilet paper, pillows, lanterns, and world maps.
-It’s a place where you’re physically never dry. You’re perpetually sweating, and then you shower to cool off, but you never really dry because you’re sweating the moment you put on your clothes. You’re even sweating when it rains because it is still 80 degrees but now with the added bonus of 100% humidity. You are all always damp. So never forget your sweat rag!
-It’s a place with glorious beaches. Forget Mexico and the Bahamas, Ghana is the place with the beaches, and CHEAP because it’s not a touristy place. It’s a secret from the world that you only find out once you’ve formed an intimate relationship with the country. My roommate and I ran away to the beaches every chance we got!
-It’s a culture that loves dancing. Dancing is the way into any Ghanaian’s heart. I love going to bars, which is mainly a man’s place because women don’t (usually) drink, and seeing men just stand up at their table and just move to the music that is playing. They don’t need anyone to dance with to make it “ok” to dance. They just go at it, and most of the time it’s with their male friends they are with. They just get up and dance. No hesitation. No thinking. Just moving. It’s beautiful.
-It’s a place that loves foreigners. Children see you passing, conspicuously stare at your different appearance, and yell “Obruni, Obruni!” We wave back and say “Hi!” and they giggle and suddenly turn bashful. There are other children however, that are not so sweet and come up to you and pull on your arm, tacitly asking for money. You literally just have to shake them off and hasten your pace.
-It’s a place where you shower regularly with mosquitoes, ants, palm-sized moths, other flying insects, and on the occasion roaches. It’s come to the point that the 4 times (yes I’ve counted!) that I’ve showered without my companions, I felt alone! What’s a shower without the regular mosquito and/ or moth attack? I can’t remember!
-Ghanaians really like giving foreigners a good impression of their country. People always ask “How are you finding Ghana?” or “Where are you going?” or “Can I help you?” And when I first got here, I would ignore them, assuming all they wanted was my money in return for their “help,” but after being here I realized they actually did want to help and they weren’t asking for money. On many occasions I’ve been lost at a tro-tro station, looking for the right tro-tro amongst the crowds of people selling, traveling, and buying, and I’ve had men walk me from one end of a tro-tro station to the other, or on some occasions walked me to the next station to get me to the vehicle I needed. And what did they do once we found our ride? Barely said goodbye and walked away. Nothing. They just help us out because we’re lost foreigners. And because of this, Ghana is the friendliest and most welcoming country I’ve been to. If you plan to come to Africa, start in Ghana. It’s a good place to get your groundings before you move on in this continent…
I could stay in Ghana another month (or three haha!) without hesitation; I’m comfortable here, I have friends here, and it’s always a perk to be legal, but I’m ok leaving now because I know I’ll be back. I’ve had my time in Ghana in which I‘ve become quite well acquainted, but it’s now time to explore West Africa. I leave May 15 for 16 days hitting Burkina Faso, Mali, The Gambia, and Senegal. On June 2, Stacy and I fly from Dakar to Cape Town, where we will spend a month (WORLD CUP!). On July 1, we both leave South Africa, but separating from each other: Stacy flies to India for 2 weeks and I’ll go to England.
So I guess Part I of our adventure is coming to an end, but we have so much more to go! Every day we will be doing something different, so these next 2 months will be the fastest of my life!
Take care, and I don’t know when the next post will be! Maybe SA, after we’re done backpacking? We’ll see!
-Annabelle
2. Me and Regina outside St. Paul's Cathedral in Abidjan
Back to Bankass.
Bankass to Mopti (I write to you from Mopti now!)
Overnight bus to Bamako and then Bamako to Dakar!
That being said, I end with a disclaimer apologizing for brief Ghana update ( things got so hectic the last 2 weeks of school) and for the delay in update! This is the first time I've had internet in almost 3 weeks!
My next update will be of all the details of the backpacking adventure. I have so much to say and I want to tell you now, but there is no time! Stacy and I are great, we're loving this!
Talk to you all soon from SA
Au Revoire,
Annabelle
