Prepare for Landing!

Day One

06/12/13

CULTURE SHOCK IS A REAL THING

Wow, I know nothing.

            I woke up this morning literally shivering with anticipation for the coming trip. I made my way through all the airport shenanigans relatively smoothly, but when I got to Ghana it was a completely foreign social atmosphere, and that became apparent almost immediately. The man at the immigration desk did not like my poorly scribbled immigration form. When he tried to tell me this, I couldn’t understand him because he was behind a glass wall and speaking softly. I tried to get him to speak up so I could hear, but he got offended right away, and my apology did little to help. This guy was really upset, and I had no idea what was so inexcusable about what I did. He started hissing at some girls to get their attention and help us out, but they clearly weren’t going to hear it so I walked over and asked them myself. After I filled out a cleaner version of the form that was not quite as scribbly and returned, he and his other friends stopped immediately to take a break. They then ignored me while I waited in line for the only person left available. Maybe I did offend him greatly somehow, but it’s not like I tried to. It’s like an entirely new social atmosphere that I don’t know how to navigate. Even little things like greetings, it’s as if I never know what to expect from people. Sometimes they’ll respond, ignore you entirely and remain stone-faced, or be delighted.  I feel like a more subtle social approach is applied here. The less explicit you can be about something the better. But that’s really hard to do when you don’t know the unspoken language.  It feels like I’m out of the loop and don’t understand half of what’s going on.

             But….I guess it is as the Ghanaian’s say, when in times of hardship, those who are wise build bridges. I tried talking to this random guy at the hostel and he was very friendly and shared a lot with me about some things to see in Ghana. He says there are crocodiles that a group of people believe to be their ancestors and they don’t harm people. It sounds sketchy I know and I’m  skeptical too, but still! How cool is that?! He said little kids play with them and people take pictures sitting on them and everything. I also spoke with one of the program assistants and he told me a lot about Ghanaian people and how many of them are obsessed with American culture. They keep up on American news and movies; they even follow our celebrities on twitter. Some of them pay better attention to our elections than we do.

           

~The heat and humidity here is constant, but we are lucky because it is the cooler rainy season. Electricity and internet service is sporadic, which makes it hard to keep up on posting what I write, but there’s no rush.

           

Day 2

06/13/13

           

The Obruni Begins to Find His Way

Ok, I’m starting to feel better about knowing my surroundings and how to interact with people without making enemies. We got a crash course in orientation about some Twi and some basic courtesy when interacting with Ghanaian people, and apparently greetings are very important to them. I think most of the benefit was giving me the confidence to initiate conversations with people, since it seems like most people are very cold at first. Once the ice gets broken, they tend to be very friendly. I talked to some random guy in a store today, and he taught me how to say “nya me na dum”, which means “by God’s grace.” Speaking of which, fun fact: Ghana has been rated the most religious country in the world. There are even random religious stickers on all the trotros (local transportation of sketchy white vans; a “driver’s mate” calls out the destination to people out of the side door). I’m going to be staying with a host family that hosts their own church services on Tuesdays. Fun fact number two: it’s frowned upon in Ghana to go to the beach on a Tuesday. That’s probably the most random rule I’ve ever heard.

I’ll be staying with my host family paired with another one of the students. Her name is Paige and she’s from Texas, so that’ll be interesting. We have the whole north-south thing covered at least. Andd my host papa will be an ex-military captain; he wants to be addressed by his title of captain. In Ghana, it’s common to be very proud of any title, which is probably due to an emphasis on social hierarchy. They want to make clear their earned higher status in the social ladder.

I have begun speaking with the locals more and I even did the Ghanaian handshake with a random security guard at a store, which is super cool. It’s so much more fun than a regular American handshake. At the end you snap your middle fingers together and feel like a boss. It’s also much more friendly, and it makes you feel like you really can be at ease with someone when you do it.

~Everyone goes to bed really early in Accra. If you’re out until 7 or 8, that’s seen as late. People go to clubs at 10 PM! 

The shower at the hostel is sooo cold and there are only like 4 streams of water that come out of the bottom of the showerhead. I ended up just splashing myself with it instead of trying to stand under it. My roommate Franz from Stanford came out of the shower shivering this morning. No worries tho.

~In Ghana they call white people and foreigners in general obruni. It’s not usually meant in a condescending way, and it often carries with it admiration. We are pretty much instant celebrities based on the color of our skin. Kids yell greetings to us (“OBRUNI!”) and random people will greet you with smiles. Sometimes it is aptly used to express that we are out of place, and in many ways do not fit in due to where we have come from.

6/15/13

Head First

            There’s so much I could say I don’t even know where to start. Yesterday we moved in with out host families, and so far so good. I have my own room and everything. We got a welcome speech from Captain Ansa commending us on having the bravery to get out of our comfort zones by studying abroad. We spent most of the night chilling on the back porch where it was cool (life is slow and peaceful in Ghana, which takes a little getting used to). Today we went to the national museum, saw the Kwame Nkruma monument (honoring the first Ghanaian President), went to an art museum, and got a taste of the markets.

~The radio is kind of odd in Ghana too. The DJ is called a “presenter” and constantly interrupts the song with enthusiastic comments or product promotion or just sings along with the music.

            Driving in Ghana is an experience in itself. There are no rules, but drivers communicate with each other pretty well with their horns and hand signals. There are countless people walking through the car-filled streets carrying random stuff on their heads and trying to sell anything you can imagine: water, toilet paper, mentos, watermelons, sun glasses, carved artwork, phone cards (give you credit on your phone to call and text), fruits, peanuts. We saw people carrying like 20 plastic chairs stacked up on their head. It is quite impressive what some of these people persist through on a daily basis. Ghanaian markets are absolute chaos. You can find just about anything you can imagine there.

            I asked my host mom what she does for fun or likes doing and her response was that she visits sick people and goes to funeral for her church 0.0 I think it’s time to start getting out of the house a little :O. Although she did say she likes watching WWE wrestling which is pretty badass. Mame Ansa has been very kind though and makes sure we have everything we need. I think that says something about the culture though that these social obligations are taken so seriously.

Many Ghanaian people are absolutely enchanted with America and want to be rich and look and act like Americans. The Great Gatsby is really popular here I think because it represents the classy wealthy flair of the American dream. Ghana advertisements are absolutely EVERYWHERE in a very American fashion. Every wall and available space is used for advertisement.

            There is conflict though in the Ghanaian mindset because traditional values contradict the greedy take-what-you-can-and-leave-everyone-else-behind. There is the opposing view, which is well depicted by the image of an alligator with two heads and one stomach. The heads of the alligator need not greedily fight over food when they share the same stomach. The idea is that as a society we share one stomach, so there is no need to fight over what we have. If our brother goes hungry, then we too suffer from that hunger. We must learn to share in order for the common good of all. It’s quite a beautiful concept I think. I feel like Ghana is in a sense represented by Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby, simultaneously enchanted and disgusted with the materialistic success of the US. They stand with one foot crossed into that world but one foot stretched back into their past.

6/16/13

Nya Me Na Dum

            First day of church today :D. We went to a Presbyterian Church with Captain Ansa, our host father. Since Ghana is the most religious country in the world, church was 3 hours long. Not to mention almost the entire service was in Twi, a local language. But I thought the beginning of the service was so cool; the band was jamming out a beat while everyone danced their way around greeting everyone with handshakes. It was really fun! We also went in front of the church at the end of the service to introduce ourselves, and everyone was very welcoming. Since we threw in some Twi, they said they were promoting us to Twi Professors J.

            I believe religion is so played up to some extent because having a strong social image is very very important to the majority of Ghanaians. Their social identity is clearly much stronger than ours; since the bonds that hold them together are so important, saving one’s face is absolutely essential. What better way to have a strong social image than projecting a strong sense of religiosity? Beyond that I think religion is another way for Ghanaian’s to build and strengthen social bonds, similar to the US. Also, religion provides a way of maintaining social order and reinforcing rules. Breaking rules of any kind is highly frowned upon in Ghana, moreso than in the US, and homosexuality is very very taboo. People found to be homosexual are often essentially shunned by their communities. On the back wall right as you enter the airport is a signing stating very clearly that pedophilia and sexual deviant behavior will not be accepted in Ghana.

~We went to Jerry’s today. It was a pretty nice outdoor bar, although the guy at the entrance glaring us while hacking at a table with a machete wasn’t exactly a warm welcome. That’s alright though, we met some more friendly people once we got inside. Some got even friendlier to the girls when we were leaving, but it was all in good fun.

            We had an interesting talk with Captain tonight. He claims that Ghana was better off when under British colonial rule. Back then railroads were built and kept up, but now they have deteriorated without the attention they need. He says corruption prevents progress in the Nation and that most changes are cosmetic, seemingly significant but have no solid foundation, such as building schools but not funding them properly enough for basic supplies (chalk, books, etc.). I asked him what could be done about it, and he said that it was hopeless and people don’t learn. I would like to think that is the bitter pessimism of an old man, but maybe he is right. Corruption to an extent exists in just about all the governments of the world after all, but in Ghana, corruption is seen as unacceptable. Maybe the US could learn something there.

~Our first day of school will be tomorrow!!! I’m super psyched to get things rolling.

            I feel like I am doing a pretty good job of adapting considering the circumstances. I speak with random people in Twi. It’s scary, but you can’t learn anything without failing a few times. I suppose it’s easy to fall into the trap of just speaking English when just about everyone here speaks English anyways, but I’ve found that to really connect with people here and get a positive response, speaking their language is indescribably important. You break down some of the social barriers and show a respect for their culture and way of life.

            Although connecting people with Ghana can get you into some strange situations. Someone tried to ask me if I could hook them up by getting one of their sons into UW Madison lolzzz. I honestly didn’t know how to respond because saving face is so important in Ghana. I think she sensed my answer and covered it for me though by saying it was too cold in Wisconsin anyways (probably true). I need to work on indirect ways of saying no because I’m sure odd situations like that will keep coming up. Many people in Ghana think being friends with a white person will get them in on some money or hook them up with someone at the US embassy for a visa or even get them connected with a white girl to marry.

            I feel like the whole emotional rollercoaster thing is beginning to settle. Now that we’ve gotten through learning about every possible thing that can go wrong, we should be ready for just about anything, and now we can find a little more peace of mind and enjoy the ride. I think I have the major adjustments covered and now only the fine tuning is left. We’ve been pretty well prepared for what we’ll be faced with.

06/18/13

And We Danced…

            Music class in Ghana was even better than I could have imagined. Our teacher is this old man who’s more squirrely than me. He reminds me a little bit of the old monkey from The Lion King. He says that 60% of learning how to dance is learning its history and purpose and that dance was a way of connecting with their ancestors, since they too danced with similar movements. It also connects us with the other dancers and even the drummers, since the music and dancing are so interconnected. Almost all Ghanaian dances are about the celebration of life, and let me tell you, these people know how to turn on the party. It is absolutely electric when the drums are pounding and everyone moves together with such a powerful joy and energy. Everyone feeds off of each other. There is no way to understand unless you’ve experienced it, the atmosphere is incredible. The second the class started, my first thought was that this is exactly what I came for and it was so worth it.

We also started learning drumming, which I am just as psyched about! Our drumming teacher is named Atsu. It’s pronounced like a sneeze.

The Ghanaian mindset is all about connections. This is expressed in ALL aspects of life, including how dance is performed. My host family lives in essentially a compound where there are a number of extended family members staying with them, including a nephew that stays in the same guest house as me (Evans). Greeting people is highly emphasized as a show of respect and maintaining connections. When you do not greet people, they may ignore you when you are in need of help. Ignoring someone is an insult or an expression of contempt. Everything is interconnected like a tree; the roots feed the trunk, the trunk supports the branches, the branches hold the leaves, the leaves fall to the Earth and feed the roots, completing the circle. It is the circle of life. Our music teacher expressed his view that an individual’s success or achievement meant nothing if it was not shared by others. A child is not even accepted as having a name or identity until the 8^th day of its birth, when the family gathers to welcome it into the world.

In the US it is completely ok to disregard a person and simply ask them for what you need. In Ghana it is the people who must always come first. You do not ask someone for directions without first greeting them properly. Young children are taught to share, and the elders model by example. In the US we are taught how to share, then shown how to clench our hands around every penny that passes in our direction.

That is not to say that the community emphasis does not come at a cost. Those who are outcasts, such as homosexuals in Ghana, become rejected by society as a whole. Individual beliefs and feelings can become lost or cast aside in the flow society. People can fail to see value in their selves as individuals. It is simply a different way of life, and a different perception of our place in the world. And so we must ask ourselves: Are we the leaf or the tree? Is our identity within or without? Are each of us whole beings, the beginning and the end of the story, or a part of something greater?