Disenchanted

Now that the honeymoon has ended, I’m being exposed to a bit of the reality of this country. I’m learning a lot more about the history and it makes it much harder to remain frustrated with the slow pace of Ghana. First of all, when the colonialists where here, they made sure to suppress industry here in order to maintain African states’ dependence on foreign products. In 2007, that means that this country missed out on the industrial revolution that makes our world work at hyper-speed. So when I’m going ‘grocery shopping’ I’m usually going to the woman who sells eggs, the woman who sells pineapples and then the woman who sells onions. The fact that such a simple process takes soo much longer was infuriating last week. But the fact is that, that’s the stage of development that this infrastructure is at right now. People are much more frequently operating businesses from the load they carry on their heads. And although it’s hard to get used to, it’s beautiful. I get to see the chickens that lay my eggs every day on my way to school!

I have to face it, there are ugly things about the world, and this place is no different. I’m learning to categorize that ugly things as ‘TIA’ (This is Africa), which is was we all say whenever something happens that would just never happen in the US. And those things are a huge part of this experience. So people have been mugged, friends have turned out to be criminals and the cops hit on you while holding semi-automatic riffles. Ghana isn’t perfect.

Then there are the little things that just SUCK. For example: open-sewers. Whereas sewers in the US are underground, they are open for you to look at, smell, and fall into! They are full of litter and animals grazing in them. Not pleasant at all. This isn’t incredibly common, but people publicly pee in them also. It also really sucks that as a foreigner, you get special prices for everything. Because there aren’t price tags on most things, you ask for the price and then bargain. While I’m learning to accept it, it drives me crazy that we are usually given prices that are at least 30% more than what they would normally cost. I came up with a new rationalization for this today though. I can’t really be mad about that though because in America, I’m all for taxing the rich. Well, there are no taxes here, so in a lot of ways, its just informal taxation. Other things that can be a hassle: water pressure that is less than a faucet, Internet or lack thereof and NO COFFEE! But as a visitor, it’s a good practice in acceptance to be without. Period.

So on Friday night, we went to club that actually ended up being a hooker joint. Woops. I think most of the men there thought we were prostitutes, but at this point I’ve got the polite ‘I don’t want you anywhere near me’ conversation down pat! Ha! But we made friends with some of the girls there and its is just so incredibly sad that they should be forced into that position. Never having actually had a conversation with a prostitute before, it was interesting to say the least. My big question is: why is that even allowed? I mean prostitution is clearly illegal here, but it’s not like any cops are at this parking lot filled with prostitutes and buyers. It was just so casual and out in the open. My friend Kathleen and I are discussing making a documentary about the ‘Ladies of the Night’. Because their profession isn’t such a crime that they should have to hide, they seem like they want to talk. Although I’m not really sure if some of them want us as friends or customers….

I’ve been wondering this week what the Ghanaian perception of American culture is like. At a glance, they seem like they couldn’t care less about American pop culture or politics. I remember seeing in China how obsessed they were with American celebrities. It was like they were copying and pasting certain parts of American culture into their own hybrid youth culture. Here, America is more associated with green cards than red carpets. When I tell people that I’m from New York (that’s right, I’m not quick to say that I’m from ‘America’), I can’t gage any reaction whatsoever. They don’t seem resentful, but they certainly don’t seem impressed.

America does play a huge role in the development of this country not only in the form of financial aid, but in the form of immigration. In many ways, the development of this country has been impeded by the amount of educated Ghanaians who leave the country to find that ‘better life’. And getting a visa here is nearly impossible, so the people that are going over are the elite class.

I haven’t heard much about Ghanaian thoughts on American politics other than a song I heard on the radio last week called “Barak Obama”. The lyrics go, “The white man will never let the black man become president, no matter how many votes her gets”. It’s the first mention of politics and the first acknowledgement of racism in America that I’ve seen. Hopefully we can prove them wrong!

Burn Your Daily Planner

Ghana is so laid back, man. We are actually fully reclined. An my New York mind is trying its hardest to be accepting. But good god. Even after being here for two weeks, I am noticing a change in myself. The thing is with this experience is that, well, it’s really hard! Usually when people study abroad it's this really relaxing, effortless experience, academic and otherwise. But Ghana is not effortless at all, it’s really challenging. It’s rough on the body and demanding of the spirit. This feeling was the most aptly realized as I was in the dingy bathroom of some dingy restaurant coping with what we students call the fox-trot, swatting helplessly at a mosquito and muttering “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you”….

Being here makes me feel so vulnerable, because there is nowhere to hide. You absolutely have to stand up to the challenges that come your way. You have to be smart about your health; take your pills and eat carefully. You have to stand up in social situations; you will always be identified as a foreigner and people will call you out on the street. But for as challenging as this whole situation is, it makes me feel strong. It makes me feel capable of anything. And therefore, I’m excited to wake up every morning and tackle the day.

Classes started this week. To a semi-rough start no doubt! The thing is with Ghana, that everything is soo incredibly laid back that you can’t expect anything but the unexpected. So showing up to class only to find out that the professor was busy that day or that the course has been canceled is no big surprise…quite different in comparison with the obsessive-compulsive way that I’m used to approaching school in New York.

Especially with the African Cup being held this weekend, the traffic is absolutely bananas. Accra is expecting 1 million visitors for the soccer fest. Now obviously the infrastructure of the city is absolutely not fit to support that many people. In fact, the University of Ghana has postponed its spring semester in order to house the soccer players (would that ever happen in the US? Not a chance!) In order to get to the University of Ghana from my house it takes about an hour, which would usually be 30 minutes (and 15 minutes, tops, if this were New York!) But nonetheless, the games start this weekend and we are all hyped about it because the Ghanaians are all about national pride!

As a side note-I got a job! Of course I got a job…in Ghana. Haha! How could I possibly not super stuff even the most laidback schedule? But this is an interesting one, for sure. I’m going to be doing an Internship with the Bokoor African Music Archive Foundation. Basically, my job is to sort out tons and tons of vinyl recordings that will eventually be digitized compiled in an Internet database. I also get to do research many of the different musicians and musical movements and write reference articles. Sweet!! The man who is in charge of the whole deal is John Collins, who is basically the Einstein of West African music. I’m so incredibly lucky to get to work and study with him.

A note on the NYU students I’m here with. They are so chill! Before coming, I had imagined that there would be a lot of righteous humanitarians and tree-huggin hippies. Not that I am either of those things…. But they are not like that at all! The only sweeping term is that these kids are risk-takers. My roommate, Kathleen is the illest! Really though, everyone is so intelligent and compassionate. Truckin….!

Buffalo Soldier, Dreadlock Rasta

Rasta parties! Who knew that rastas were the greatest people on earth? This Wednesday, some friends in Accra and I went to a Reggae party on Labadi Beach. We heard about the party from an orientation on safety that noted this party as one to avoid. Rastas are really no match for a gaggle of American girls, so we figured our odds were good. Trying to get to the party was an adventure in of itself because there are no addresses on the beach! So we had to go through a swanky hotel and bribe the security guard with GC5 in order to even get on the beach. Following the sounds of Marley we pulled up to the party and pretty instantly had a fan club. Every single one of us got a Rasta friend and copiously enjoyed their generosity! The funniest thing about the rastas is that the next night we went to another bar in Osu, the downtown area where we live, and we saw the same bunch of people! Accra is a small town. Hey, yea, imagine running into you here...hmmm? Besides the enjoyment of partaking in the Rasta rights of passage, their friendliness is really a testament to the fabulosity of the Ghanaian people. They are so incredibly hospitable!

Welcoming and beautiful. They are incredibly ethereal and graceful. Many of the people walk around the streets with huge items balanced on their heads. Whether it’s bananas or an enormous rack of sunglasses, you see people weaving the streets with things on their heads. The most incredible thing is that they NEVER bump into each other or trip and drop their load. Its really interesting because they don’t need Gucci bags to make them look classy, no matter how little they have, they manage to be incredibly graceful and elegant.

Today, we went to a town about an hour and a half away from Accra called Torgome. It was positioned as a ‘visit’ to a traditional village, but it was really a paid program by a tour company. Nonetheless, touristy doesn’t necessarily mean inauthentic here in Ghana. We stepped off the bus and 50 children swarmed around us waving and trying to hold our hands. I just need to say that these kids are the CUTEST. They are so full of life and joy. They play well with each other and are very polite. Mind you, they have what we would consider next to nothing. Then we partook in the opening greetings and naming ceremony. We shook the elders’ hands (with our right hands, because its disrespectful to use the left!) and were seated for prayers. Each one of us was then adopted, in some sense, by a family of the village; we were given names and sweet bracelets. It was nice, drumming and dancing with everyone. The dancing was really interesting, because you can see how their dancing has so influenced dancing in this country. Fast footwork and booty shakin!! The younger children dance much more aggressively I think because it’s seen as inappropriate for the older girls.

I had a great time at this village; it was awesome to see a functioning community that has so few of the tech tools that we consider necessary for survival. However, I left confused. Finding out that they get paid to let foreigners come in and peep made me think that it wasn’t all that genuine. And it makes me feel phony that I played with all these beautiful children and had such good conversations, only to never see the people ever again. And that’s the view of Westerners that they get every time visitors come? Maybe I’m overanalyzing it because for the most part, ‘tourists’ in Ghana are doing extremely genuine work. So were pretty engaged in cultivating understanding. But how can I maintain my integrity here and not become a humanitarian that only participates to inflate her ego?

Akwaaba!

Who knew how blissful a mid-day shower in Sub-Saharan Africa would be? Even though the water pressure fails completely about every 30 seconds and the hot water is really only about lukewarm, having a shower here is one of the great pleasures of Ghanaian living. My first few days in Ghana!! DANG!! I landed on the Dark Continent just as the sun was rising Monday morning and I was just so completely beside myself! Partly terrified that I would get malaria as soon as I stepped off the plane and partly confused because it kinda looked like L.A. with kente cloth everywhere. But as soon as I went through immigration and had to pretend that I actually understood the Ghanaian English, I knew I had arrived!!

I had absolutely no expectations of what things would be like before I came here and I’m glad that I didn’t make any attempts. The weather is absolutely gorgeous here, probably getting only up to 90 degrees. I’m expecting is to get much hotter because right now, we are living through the time of year when all the dust from the desert comes down and hovers over the city before settling. Kind of nasty and not so breathing friendly, but not too bad.

The people here are so incredibly friendly! Last night was the first break in our intense orientation schedule that allowed us to actually go out and see what this place is like. We went to a local bar called ‘After One’. Well as Kathleen accurately noted, it wasn’t exactly a bar, but more of a drinking shack. A drinking shack with no roof and a bucket in the bathroom. Haaaaaa. But with 40’s at 1.50 cedi (which is the equivalent of about $1.40 USD) and a pool table, who can really be choosey? But we played pool with some of the locals and found out our Ghanaian names. Here, people are named after the day of the week that they’re born. So, Yefre me Afiya! (That’s Twi for my name is….Friday…haha!)