As it says in the title of the post, I only have 10 short days left in the beautiful place I have called home for almost 4.5 months. My mom would probably tell you, that is exactly 138 days too long. On my first day travelling to Ghana and the third day here when I went to the hospital, I would have agreed with her. However, at this point-129 days in, I think it is the perfect amount if not too short. I have learned many valuable lessons while in Ghana, about culture, life, people, and in the end myself. I'm a much stronger person than I was when I boarded that plane in Chicago and I will be forever grateful for this opportunity.
A friend recently asked me if I could describe either Ghana or my experience in Ghana in three words what they would be. It would be impossible for me to describe Ghana in general in three words so I opted for the second option. My experience in Ghana in three words: religion, compassion, Adovor (the name of my host-family). I've talked before about religion in Ghana, how it is a part of almost everyone's life every minute of the day.
The compassion and generosity of almost everyone is incredible. Sure there are frustrating times when people yell to you just because you're different, or because they want something from you-either money or marriage. However, those times are overshadowed by the people who grab your hand to help you cross the ridiculously busy highway, the women who stop you in the morning just to thank you and welcome you to their beloved country, the hotel owners who run through town to find exactly what you desire for dinner (especially if it is Ghanaian food), and the list goes on.
Adovor-needs no explanation. Without my Ghanaian family and this homestay I would have been on the first plane back to Chicago when I got really sick the first time. I thank God every day that my friends and family convinced me to stick it out. Heck my favorite food is the soup that made me sick and tonight was the first night I finally ate fufu with no problem!
Through this experience I have been given the opportunity to be the minority in a country, something I think we should all experience. No matter how much a government preaches equality for all-we know that many are still treated unfairly. In Ghana I have often had people try to cheat me just because I am white therefore I must be rich right? I have children walk up to me and say "oburoni, I want 20 pesewas (money)" mind you they would never go up to a Ghanaian woman and ask her for the same thing.
I have seen a lot of people demonstrate the behavior of people who believe they are saving Africa by playing with Ghanaian babies. As one of my fellow CIEE students so eloquently put it "You will never save Africa as much as Africa will save you". I think he hit the nail on the head. I never came here to save Africa and yet I feel that it has saved me, it has given me a new addition to my American family, a new focus for my studies and future, and a second home that I know I won't be able to stay away from for long.
I have learned to be a more patient person (having to wait for hours before getting transportation in the sun, trying to communicate with multiple language barriers, waiting for an hour for a meal just to find out that they don't even have the food, etc. will definitely improve your patience). I have learned to be more bold and speak up (if you don't yell at the tro tro driver you might not get dropped off where you want, if you don't yell at the mate he might not give you your change back, if you don't ask someone where to go you will never figure it out since street names and maps don't exist). Living in Africa reminds you that we are all interconnected and depend on each other because everyday here you rely on others and you realize it some days more that others.
These are just a few of the musings I find myself entertaining in the last few works here, I'm sure more are to come. In the meantime, here are a few stories since my last post.
Andrew left about one week ago after a two week stay. We spent the second week he was here travelling the Volta Region again. As always it was breathtaking and beautiful. I find that once you get outside of the Greater Accra Region and other urban areas, the people who live there become just a bit kinder and want to welcome you and take care of you as much as possible. We left Monday and returned Thursday after climbing both Mt. Afadjato (highest mountain in Ghana) and the Wli Falls (second highest waterfalls in West Africa) and spending some time in Hohoe where we were staying. Here is a pic from our trip:
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| Andrew and I sporting Wisconsin garb on top of Mt. Afadjato |
Yesterday, was election day in Ghana. Their presidential election schedule is the same as ours since 1992 every four years. It has been a very exciting fall with so many campaign flags, advertisements, speeches, rallies, etc. just like in the U.S. There is always a chance of violence with elections especially close ones like in 2008 when there were four run-offs before a winner was actually chosen (in January!). Therefore, everyone has been calling for a peaceful election. So far it has been pretty peaceful, thank God. Yesterday, I was able to go to the polls with my sisters who have never voted before. I decided not to take my camera since I knew that I would already stick out enough and possibly be asked to leave for causing a ruckus or perhaps someone thinking I was there to intimidate people. Thankfully, I only received a ton of stares. This year they have instated a biometric voter identification system where people have to scan their fingerprint before they can vote. To vote they also use their fingerprint on a ballot with photos of the candidates on it. The problem is that without the machine they couldn't scan fingerprints and therefore people couldn't vote. So while my sister Sitso was able to vote right away, Rachel had to wait for two hours before they brought a new machine. There is obviously feelings of frustration when people are waiting in line for hours in order to cast a vote that they aren't even sure will make a difference. The polls are also usually not even inside in a building, the place where my family voted was outside on a random street in our neighborhood. The booths were cardboard tri-folds and kept blowing over in the wind. Because of the incidence of machines being broken and the slow deliverance of basic election materials the elections continued into today and the results aren't expected to be official until Tuesday.
Overall, experiencing another country's elections is an invaluable experience. Check out some pics from the election thus far on the BBC website : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20645818
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| Here's a pic of me and my friends at our farewell dinner for CIEE. |
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