Ghana Time

I made a list just a few short weeks ago when I realized my time in Ghana was coming to an end.

I wanted to write down everything that I wanted to do before I left. I wanted to be sure that I did everything I could possibly do while I was here for the last few weeks.

I wanted to make sure I climbed a mountain, had a beach weekend, and even find a way to attend a Ghanaian funeral. After all, Ghanaian funerals are unlike any funeral most Americans have ever seen. Glittered with intricate fabrics of red and black, lots of shouting and screaming, funerals tend to be a true celebration here in Ghana. Few, if any, dwell on the tragedy, and instead embrace the life that has been lived.
I glanced at the list the other day, realizing I haven't gotten around to much of it. I won't be traveling to Ivory Coast, I may not make it back to the Volta Region to do some hiking, and I may not even get to a funeral before I leave.

But, Ghana has never really been about the lists. In fact, it's never really been about checking things off, getting things done. Ghana is much more about letting things come as they will and just going with the moment. That's probably one of the biggest reasons why I really just love it here.

When you walk down the street, adjacent to the night market, being sure to watch where you walk (you would hate to fall in the gutter. Seriously. We have open gutters in many places in Ghana…), you might see a friend and talk for 20 minutes unexpectedly. You might grab an egg sandwich—of course with laughing cow cheese (you know, cheese that doesn't need refrigeration)—or you might just grab a mango.

When you go to catch a tro-tro you never know what you might experience. Just the other day, I rode on a tro to Kissemahn alone. Just me, the mate, and the driver. While I know they wanted more people to get on so they could get more business, I secretly liked riding alone because I got to ride shotgun. One other time, coming back from Kokrobite, the mate and driver let me help them out a bit. I screamed out the places we were headed, coupled with the hand signals, and for a minute felt like I could be Ghana's next greatest mate on a tro-tro. This past weekend when we went to Makola market to get fabric we expected it to be a quick process; you know, get in and get out. But, shopping here doesn't tend to work like it does when you enter Super Wal-Mart back home and you can pick what you need and move right along. Instead, we became immersed in the world of fabric, contemplating which colors were best, which designs were the most suitable, and of course had to work our bargaining skills. I will say, even after 4 months here, I still can't bargain well at all. This, on top of making friends with the women selling the fabric, led us to taking our time and enjoying ourselves, despite the heat, close spaces, and the beckoning market women.

We run on a thing called Ghana time. At first, it was so hard to adjust to. I couldn't possibly understand why a class, a program, or a service would start over 45 minutes later. It didn't make sense. But, once you start living the Ghanaian life you begin to see a little more clearly. Things move a little slower, a little calmer, and you learn to just take things as they come. In the grand scheme of things, it just isn't that big of a deal.

I try closing my eyes, imagining what things are like back home. I've always been that girl, running from one thing to the next, trying to get as many things done as I could. It's always been like that. Even in Ghana, I can still be that girl walking fast, always headed somewhere. I think it comes from just being an intense person. But, I feel different now. If I'm late, it's okay. If I need to get things done and it takes longer than expected, it doesn't really matter.

You know what the best part is?

It's the truth. It really doesn't matter.

Because, at the end of the day, if you are doing what you love, enjoying life, and embracing the people around you, well, then you really can't go wrong.

I may not get everything crossed off of the list I made a few short weeks ago. I'm not worried though. Because in the last 21 days that I have here, I fully intend to spend my days just being here. I know that at some point I will begin the mental, emotional, and spiritual process of leaving. But, that day has not yet arrived. And so, I am here, and I am living. I am living on Ghana time, and I don't think I would have it any other way.

The only way to really know is to really let it go

Kamke National Park

It has been difficult to understand my place here in Ghana.

On one hand, I am a white. Because of the color of my skin, I cannot escape that. I am marked as a tourist, as a visitor, as someone separate from Ghanaian society. This couldn't be more obvious when I am taking pictures of locals moving around in markets atop a huge, air-conditioned, tourist bus. It doesn't help that when visiting a busy market or anywhere around town you know you are being called when you hear the simple phrase Obruni (meaning "white" in Twi). Or maybe when I stumble over various phrases and words in Twi, a language spoken as a first language by 50% of the population, I feel increasingly isolated from real Ghanaians. Even today, before our canopy tour in Kamke National Park, I was given a name tag that read "Non-Ghanaian Student." There are different rates for different people, and the rate for a non-Ghanaian student is higher than the rate for a Ghanaian student for the tour in the park. While this is fine, I couldn't help but think to myself, "wait, aren't I attending the University of Ghana? Shouldn't I also be a Ghanaian student?" On a lighter note, I think I felt most American when our group went to Chez Afrique for dinner. Chez Afrique is a nice restaurant, with a pretty chill vibe. When the band starting playing tunes such as "I Will Survive" and "Murder She Wrote" many of us just belted out singing and dancing near the stage. This charade of singing certainly did not end at the restaurant. As we piled into the International Programs Bus we sang the whole way home. We sang anything from Grease, some Beyonce, classic Journey tunes, and to Sweet Home Alabama. While I did feel quite American, I enjoyed every minute of it. I mean, just because I'm in a different country doesn't mean I can't continue to embarrass myself.

Luckily though, this hasn't been my only experience in trying to comprehend where I fit in here. At other times, I have felt completely apart of Ghanaian life. When visiting the school over in Kisema, just down the road, the kids are always thrilled to see you. Instantly, they will latch on to you, and hope that you never let go. While I don't find this surprising—these are kids after all—I did have an even more surprising experience this past week that made me feel more welcome not just to Ghana, but to this community. Ricki, a young girl, decided to take me to her home in Kisema. It was lunch break, so some kids were sticking around to play with us, while others had gone home to see their families. She got on my back for a piggy-back ride and headed to her home. She lives just down the road from the make-shift school we work in, and as I let her down from my back, I was hesitant to step any further. This was her home, and I didn't want to barge in or anything. Her home is comprised of several rooms and buildings that seem to house most of her immediate family. While I didn't step directly inside a bedroom or anything, her Aunt did invite me to sit on a bench with the other members of the family to relax. As I looked at my surroundings, I saw a young naked child running around with soap on him. Clearly, he was in the middle of bath and was not heeding to his mother's orders. Ricki's grandmother was also bathing herself, right in the middle of the pathway. It took me aback at first, but she felt so comfortable washing herself without a shirt on that I tried not to act startled. The notion of privacy seemed quite different in this particular community, so I decided to just go with the flow. As I sat with her family for just a few minutes, I remember feeling so welcome, and that felt so good. Here I was in the middle of a home, in the middle of a town in Ghana, and I was receiving some wonderful hospitality. Maybe they didn't have food or a cold drink to offer, but they had a bench and they let me sit there. It meant a lot to me.

I've also felt more apart of Ghana now that I am getting comfortable moving around and getting to places. It's still a work in progress, but being able to catch a tro-tro and not have a huge group of white kids around has made fitting in a little easier. As a student, I am feeling more a part of the campus community because many of the students have been so welcome here. I've met people who have shown me around campus, other students in class who have offered pieces of advice, and others who have invited me to do things around the University of Ghana. I like being involved as a student, especially outside of the classroom, so it makes a difference.

Living here for 4 months makes finding my place a little more difficult. Not quite a tourist, and yet not quite a permanent citizen of Ghana, I am somewhere in the middle. I think that's okay though, and I am just fine with that. I am happy I have the months ahead to do all that I want around West Africa, and I am also glad I have been here for almost 3 weeks because I am beginning to feel at home. I have a wonderful circle of friends, from all over, and we just have so much fun together. I love that I can talk with people here for hours and it doesn't even matter. All of us are slowly getting adjusted to Ghana time (you know, say you will be somewhere and show up 45 minutes late) and I think it's good for those of us are so used to different lifestyles. It's good to slow down, have a nice long chat, and enjoy the time we have.

At the Slave Castles in Cape Coast

I'm doing my best to just let whatever happens here, happen. I'm trying not to fixate on finding my place here, and rather, just let everything work itself out. I am here and here for a reason, and this is important to keep in mind.

I am ready for a new week, a week where I can finally get my class schedule straightened out, a week that brings new adventures and new opportunities. I am a bit tired from this weekend, I must say. This past weekend we visited Cape Coast! We drove a bus there, which took a little more than 3 hours, and we first went to the Slave castles. We saw where slaves were kept while being prepared for transportation across the Atlantic Ocean. After learning so much about the slave trade from my classes at Hendrix last semester, it was incredible to be there. To be at a place where it actually happened…it was intense. Cape Coast is gorgeous, and it seems ironic that something so hell-ish, like slavery, happened along the coasts of a place so beautiful. Visiting those slave castles was hard and still something I have wanted to do for a very long time. The pictures do not do the place justice, as the feeling of actually being in the dungeons is unparalleled by a lot of other emotions I have felt in my life.

We stayed over in Cape Coast, and unfortunately around the time we were at the slave castles, I had a bad allergic reaction that affected my eyes. It burnt to open them, they were swelling and it was quite uncomfortable. Still, my friends were good sports as I wore sunglasses to dinner and took allergy medicine that made me a little loopy.

I did get to eat spaghetti though, with CHEESE, so obviously I was one happy girl. I woke up the next morning and my eyes were much better. We spent this morning at Kamke National Park. We got to go on a canopy tour which was awesome and I loved it! Anyone afraid of heights had a more difficult time, but everyone got through it and had some fun. The trees and the brush in the rainforest is so green and beautiful that I couldn't stop taking pictures. Like at the slave castles, I had a hard time taking pictures that truly captured the essence of what we were surrounded by.

It's been a good, long week and I feel fulfilled. I really do.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in your ways acknowledge him, and he will your paths straight. Proverbs 3: 5-6