Where to begin!? My time thusfar in Ghana has been amazing! Hopefully this blog will keep everyone updated on my adventures throughout the next four months, as I have limited internet access and want to keep those few curious friends and family members in the loop!
“Obruni” means white person in Twi. Naturally I’ve learned to respond to it, among other names and calls such as “Hey Lady.” It’s not an offensive term, just a label used for most foreigners. Although as an Obruni I am in the minority (as is to be expected) there are a surprising number of other obrunis studying at UGH this semester. There are about 60 people total in my program (CIEE) in addition some other programs with kids from the US, and also a few european students.
My first day in Ghana began at 8 am when we touched down in Accra, Ghana’s capital city. At the time 8 am seemed fairly early; however I am finding out that in the context of Ghanaian culture 8am is late! Ghanaians wake up as early as 4am to go to the market, and get household chores done in order to beat the heat! Classes here start as early as 7:30 am! Surprisingly enough, this early hour doesn’t always mean early to bed early to rise. Ghanaians love to go out and stay out late despite their early mornings. On the subject of going out, I’ve gotten to experience a few bars/clubs so far this first week. Last night some of our group went to Reggae night at a local hotel. There was live reggae on the beach, a few beachside bars, tables, and of course the waves! It was more like a vacation than second semester of my Junior year. The drink of choice here called Star. It’s a light beer, that is pretty tasty, and relatively cheap. Then again, pretty much everything here is cheap in the context of US dollars.
For example, most mornings I get up and have either fruit, which is between 50 pesewas and 1 cedi, or if I want to splurge, I’ll have an egg sandwich which is between 70 pesewas and 1.2 cedis. 1 cedi is between 60-70 cents. So many mornings I’m paying a dollar or less for a meal! Although I can’t drink the tap water, bottled water and water sachets are plentiful. The water sachets are an experience. They are little plastic pags of water, which hold about what a bottle would. You rip them open with your teeth and squirt them into your water bottle or your mouth. They are a bit like water balloons if you drop them though.
As far as Ghanaian food goes, I have been able to try a few local dishes. I’m really a fan of what they call “Red red” which is beans and black eyed peas in a red sauce with some mysterious powder. Maybe it’s a spice? I’m not too sure. I was able to try fufu which is popular. Fufu is a dough-like glob placed in a soupy broth usually mixed with some kind of meat. I tend to stick to chicken, as my friend tried goat and got a little surprise floating organ in his soup. You eat the fufu by picking pieces of the dough off and dipping them in the soup. No utensils necessary. The broth is pretty spicy, as is most food here, but overall I didn’t mind it.
The weather here is hot, naturally as Ghana is the closest land mass to the center of the earth! From about 8am-6pm it is HOT! I mean like take three steps outside and start to sweat hot. I’m finding that the material of the clothing I brought that I ususally wear in the summers is too heavy for the Ghanaian sun! I’m having some clothing made by Miss Elizabeth the seamstress who comes to our hostel every few days. This should be lighter weight and also more African! The prints and fabrics here are beautiful and the seamstresses are so amazing! I can have a dress tailor made to fit me for about $7 US! Jake just had a shirt/tunic made too!
This Sunday we will be taking a tour of Accra, but we have gotten to go into the city a bit since we’ve been here. On my first day I went to Oxford Street, a market in the city. I got a patchwork bag and bartered for a beautiful canvass painting! The artist was wearing a t-shirt that said Harrisburg Susquehanna River. I couldn’t believe that Central PA had followed me to Ghana! The market was quite an experience. There are people everywhere trying to sell you literally everything! It’s incredible. I’m getting better at bargaining though I always feel bad doing it! Our Ghanaian friends tell us to cut the price they offer you in half and start from that point. Everyone thinks Obrunis have endless amounts of cash and no clue about Ghanaian currency. You even barter for taxi fares here!
The transportation situation in this country is pretty interesting. We mostly take taxis where we want to go, so we barter for the rate and if we don’t agree with the driver we let him drive away. There are so many taxis in this city!! The other form of transportation are tro-tros. Tro-tros are busses/vans which can hold as many as 20 people I would guess. I have never seen so many people crammed into one space. These are the cheapest form of transportation. They drive by and the driver’s assistant leans out the window and yells the destination of the tro-tro. For example there is a traffic circle that is a popular destination , so those tro-tros have someone yelling “circ circ circ circ” (which amusingly enough sounds like “sex” with their accents). There are also hand motions that go with this. Ghanaians in general use a lot of hand motions. There are certain motions that mean different things when hailing a cab, when waving to a friend, and of course insulting someone. If you give someone the thumbs up with your left hand it is equivalent to the middle finger in the US. Two thumbs up are ok though. Ghanaians also use different fabrics and clothing to say things. For example there is a fabric that if worn to your in-law’s house tells them that you are unhappy with them, without even opening your mouth! A woman who spoke to us today told us that if a wife is mad at her husband she can put so much pepper in his food that he can’t eat it and he will get the message! It is truly a creatively non-confrontational society.
Sometimes being in Ghana feels a little like playing a game. You have to remember the rules so you don’t offend anyone, all while figuring out how to stay hydrated, satiated, and well rested. I’ve considered taping my left hand to my side because it is offensive to give or receive anything with your left. As a lefty Jake has had to make some major adjustments! I drink more water per day than I do in three days in the US and at night I cozy up in my tie dye sheets under my mosquito net so I don’t get malaria. While there are so many things to be aware of and remember this culture and society is truly relaxing. Our program has started saying “American walk” when they want people to catch up with them when walking somewhere. We have all started to mosy along wherever we are going just like the Ghanaians(I blame the heat). Generally the people are friendly, though of course there are some unfriendly people who don’t like Americans. Jake and I have befriended a guy out our his floor named Daro, who is from Togo. He is in the International Student Hostel with us. We also have met his friends Nabil and Sombe from Burkina-Faso and the Ivory Coast repsectively. Tomorrow Jake will get his roommate who we think will be Ghanaian! My roommate is a girl who is in our program. I’m hopeful that I will make some female Ghanaian friends eventhough I don’t have a Ghanaian roommate. We were told that it is a little more difficult for white women to make friends with Ghanaian women. Many view us as competion because Ghanaian men give us so much attention. I guess we will see! That’s all for now! More to come in the following weeks!
No comments:
Post a Comment