Thanksgiving - Ghana Style
Thanksgiving was last Thursday, and it turned out to be rather interesting. A number of the Peace Corps volunteers were invited to have Thanksgiving at the US Ambassador's residence, so I headed down to Accra Thursday morning. Before going anywhere else, I headed to the Accra mall for the first time. I had heard that it was really nice, but was still surprised when I got inside. I would put this mall up against any modern US mall. It was bright, modern, clean, and had great air conditioning. The bathrooms were exactly what you'd expect in such a place. I mention that because the public bathroom situation is a bit different here. Most stores don't have any bathrooms. Tro tro stations will usually have some sort of outdoor urinal, or even possibly an indoor bathroom complex that you pay to enter. But you generally don't just stop at a gas station for a bathroom. Instead, you'd most likely be led to some area behind a building where there's some sort of wall shielding you from public view.
Anyway, back at the mall, while it wasn't a huge place, one would have honestly thought they were in the States while they were inside. They had several electronics stores, a Nike store, designer shops, and even a couple Target-style stores. The only problem is that the prices were also of the US flavor. $20 for a pair of pants (they call them trousers here) is a bit too much when you're only getting $6 a day. It was interesting how quickly I got accustomed to the mall and all the modern conveniences. It was as though I had never been without them. It was also interesting to see how many other white people were at the store. I saw more non-Peace Corps white people there than I had ever had before in Ghana.
When I finally arrived at the residence, there were already quite a few people there. After a warm welcome from the Ambassador, we all started dinner. It was an excellent spread, and had a lot of the traditional favorites that I've grown accustomed to. The Ambassador has a beautiful house, so it was interesting being in a luxurious setting after "roughing it" in the village life. After relaxing a while after dinner, a group of others and I went swimming in the pool. It was the first time I had been swimming since arriving in Ghana. Most of the water here simply isn't safe for swimming.
Following the dinner, three other volunteers and I headed out our host house where we would be spending the night. We learned that our hosts were out on a Thanksgiving party of their own, and we were invited to join them. On the way to the house, we passed the US Embassy. It was actually quite a large, modern, and somewhat foreboding complex. I had no idea that it would be been so big.
When we arrived at the house, we found that most of the people there had finished eating, but we were invited to help ourselves to our second Thanksgiving dinner. The food there was also quite good. It was quite interesting to be in the house though. It was a nice house by US standards, and had a big TV, speakers, couches, carpeting...the whole works. It was the first time that I had been in such a place since I left the States, and it was strange realizing that I was still in Ghana. There were quite a few expats at the Thanksgiving party. Most, if not all, of them were involved in aid work in Ghana. It was interesting hearing their stories, because many of them had done aid work in quite a few different countries. At the same time, I was glad to have the opportunity to live outside the comfortable confines of their home, and live on a level closer to most Ghanaians. Truthfully, even my place is quite nice by most Ghanaian standards.
Once we finished at the Thanksgiving party, we headed over the host house where we were to spend the night. This house wasn't quite as modern, but one would have thought they were living in the States once they got inside. They had the Armed Forces Network on the TV, and all the familiar US shows were playing. There were a couple kids that lived with the host family, so of course they had the electric guitar and Nintendo Wii. The family also gets shipments of US goods to their house, so the pantry was stocked with all the familiar foods that we have the US grocery stores. We spent the night in an honest-to-goodness bedroom with two beds, posters on the walls, toys scattered on the floor, and a closet.
The following morning we headed out after being treated to coffee and some of the leftover Thanksgiving food. The host, who was a former Peace Corps volunteer herself, took it upon herself to pack each of us a lunch to go. I spent a good part of the morning at the Peace Corps office getting some paperwork taken care of, and sending and receiving pen pal letters for my students. My two classes are in contact with two US schools. I headed back to the mall to take care of some cell phone business and finally started heading out of Accra.
On my way out, I thought that I would be able to stop at a bank and withdraw some money because my funds were getting a bit low. I stopped at the bank, and requested the money the same way I had always done before. I was denied this request however, because I had opened my account at a different branch, and the other branch hadn't gotten my withdrawal slips to me yet. This was never a problem before, and it was a bit frustrating. I was told that I would have to go to my "home branch", which was only "few minutes away". Due to the heavy Accra traffic, I knew this wouldn't be the case, and I tried to press my case. They didn't give in though, and I had no alternative but to find my home branch.
After getting directions, I located an appropriate taxi and got inside to wait on one of the two remaining seats. It was uncomfortably hot inside though, and my seat was directly under the sun so I got out to wait under the shade. I chatted with the driver for a while as I waited. Two people saw the two remaining seats in the car, and jumped right on in. I indicated to the driver that I was short on time, and actually needed this ride. He knew I was waiting for the car, because we were chatting and discussing where I was going. He walked toward the car, and I thought he was going to make the necessary arrangements, but instead he just drove off leaving me standing there. I was both surprised and a bit angry with this development. Most Ghanaians are incredibly helpful and welcoming, and this was quite out of character. I learned a couple things from this though. First, how I had come to expect the "preferred treatment" that I nearly always get while being here. It would seem that a lot of that preferred treatment is due to people hoping to establish connections with people from the "Promised Land" aka the US. The second thing, is that I need to remember that not all places view Americans with such regard as most do here in Ghana.
The next taxi ended up leaving only a few minutes after the first, and I was able to get the necessary work done at the bank. It the end, the bank trip was a good thing, because it had to be done at some point anyway. Unfortunately, this "few minute jaunt" ended up taking nearly 2 hours.
The next task at hand was getting suitable attire for my headmaster's funeral on that coming Saturday. Red or black are the only appropriate colors here, and I wasn't able to pick up the black shirt that I was having a tailor make back at my site. I started looking around the various streets shops near the main Circle station. The Ghanaians refer to second-hand clothing as "obruni wayroo" which means "dead white man's clothes". Because the clothing is still in good shape, they seem to think that the only reason it was discarded was because the "white man" died. I looked all over, but wasn't finding a whole lot. Finally, I found a suitable black shirt that was XXL, but seemed as though it would do the trick. (Note: I also ran into a Ghanaian who "helped" me find the shirt, and wanted to exchange email addresses and phone numbers. I later got an email from him, letting me know that our meeting was a "divine connection" and that we had some "matters to discuss" so I should give him a call. I think someone wants an invitation to the Promised Land! Best strategy here is to "forget" the meeting ever happened.)
Having finally finished all my business in Accra, I boarded a bus to Kumasi, the site of my headmaster's funeral. Kumasi is Ghana's second largest city, and is about 5 hours from Accra. The bus was quite nice inside, and had big reclining seats and footrests. I could tell most of the people inside were the more well-to-do Ghanaians. On the way up to Kumasi I met a Ghanaian who was living in the UK and had come back to Ghana for an engagement, and a man who was the founder of a Ghanaian NGO. It sounded as though he has just secured some rather substantial funding, and was rather happy about it. Aside from three stops due to mechanical trouble, the ride up was mostly uneventful, and mostly comfortable. Stay tuned - the Kumasi funeral is coming up next!
Anyway, back at the mall, while it wasn't a huge place, one would have honestly thought they were in the States while they were inside. They had several electronics stores, a Nike store, designer shops, and even a couple Target-style stores. The only problem is that the prices were also of the US flavor. $20 for a pair of pants (they call them trousers here) is a bit too much when you're only getting $6 a day. It was interesting how quickly I got accustomed to the mall and all the modern conveniences. It was as though I had never been without them. It was also interesting to see how many other white people were at the store. I saw more non-Peace Corps white people there than I had ever had before in Ghana.
When I finally arrived at the residence, there were already quite a few people there. After a warm welcome from the Ambassador, we all started dinner. It was an excellent spread, and had a lot of the traditional favorites that I've grown accustomed to. The Ambassador has a beautiful house, so it was interesting being in a luxurious setting after "roughing it" in the village life. After relaxing a while after dinner, a group of others and I went swimming in the pool. It was the first time I had been swimming since arriving in Ghana. Most of the water here simply isn't safe for swimming.
Following the dinner, three other volunteers and I headed out our host house where we would be spending the night. We learned that our hosts were out on a Thanksgiving party of their own, and we were invited to join them. On the way to the house, we passed the US Embassy. It was actually quite a large, modern, and somewhat foreboding complex. I had no idea that it would be been so big.
When we arrived at the house, we found that most of the people there had finished eating, but we were invited to help ourselves to our second Thanksgiving dinner. The food there was also quite good. It was quite interesting to be in the house though. It was a nice house by US standards, and had a big TV, speakers, couches, carpeting...the whole works. It was the first time that I had been in such a place since I left the States, and it was strange realizing that I was still in Ghana. There were quite a few expats at the Thanksgiving party. Most, if not all, of them were involved in aid work in Ghana. It was interesting hearing their stories, because many of them had done aid work in quite a few different countries. At the same time, I was glad to have the opportunity to live outside the comfortable confines of their home, and live on a level closer to most Ghanaians. Truthfully, even my place is quite nice by most Ghanaian standards.
Once we finished at the Thanksgiving party, we headed over the host house where we were to spend the night. This house wasn't quite as modern, but one would have thought they were living in the States once they got inside. They had the Armed Forces Network on the TV, and all the familiar US shows were playing. There were a couple kids that lived with the host family, so of course they had the electric guitar and Nintendo Wii. The family also gets shipments of US goods to their house, so the pantry was stocked with all the familiar foods that we have the US grocery stores. We spent the night in an honest-to-goodness bedroom with two beds, posters on the walls, toys scattered on the floor, and a closet.
The following morning we headed out after being treated to coffee and some of the leftover Thanksgiving food. The host, who was a former Peace Corps volunteer herself, took it upon herself to pack each of us a lunch to go. I spent a good part of the morning at the Peace Corps office getting some paperwork taken care of, and sending and receiving pen pal letters for my students. My two classes are in contact with two US schools. I headed back to the mall to take care of some cell phone business and finally started heading out of Accra.
On my way out, I thought that I would be able to stop at a bank and withdraw some money because my funds were getting a bit low. I stopped at the bank, and requested the money the same way I had always done before. I was denied this request however, because I had opened my account at a different branch, and the other branch hadn't gotten my withdrawal slips to me yet. This was never a problem before, and it was a bit frustrating. I was told that I would have to go to my "home branch", which was only "few minutes away". Due to the heavy Accra traffic, I knew this wouldn't be the case, and I tried to press my case. They didn't give in though, and I had no alternative but to find my home branch.
After getting directions, I located an appropriate taxi and got inside to wait on one of the two remaining seats. It was uncomfortably hot inside though, and my seat was directly under the sun so I got out to wait under the shade. I chatted with the driver for a while as I waited. Two people saw the two remaining seats in the car, and jumped right on in. I indicated to the driver that I was short on time, and actually needed this ride. He knew I was waiting for the car, because we were chatting and discussing where I was going. He walked toward the car, and I thought he was going to make the necessary arrangements, but instead he just drove off leaving me standing there. I was both surprised and a bit angry with this development. Most Ghanaians are incredibly helpful and welcoming, and this was quite out of character. I learned a couple things from this though. First, how I had come to expect the "preferred treatment" that I nearly always get while being here. It would seem that a lot of that preferred treatment is due to people hoping to establish connections with people from the "Promised Land" aka the US. The second thing, is that I need to remember that not all places view Americans with such regard as most do here in Ghana.
The next taxi ended up leaving only a few minutes after the first, and I was able to get the necessary work done at the bank. It the end, the bank trip was a good thing, because it had to be done at some point anyway. Unfortunately, this "few minute jaunt" ended up taking nearly 2 hours.
The next task at hand was getting suitable attire for my headmaster's funeral on that coming Saturday. Red or black are the only appropriate colors here, and I wasn't able to pick up the black shirt that I was having a tailor make back at my site. I started looking around the various streets shops near the main Circle station. The Ghanaians refer to second-hand clothing as "obruni wayroo" which means "dead white man's clothes". Because the clothing is still in good shape, they seem to think that the only reason it was discarded was because the "white man" died. I looked all over, but wasn't finding a whole lot. Finally, I found a suitable black shirt that was XXL, but seemed as though it would do the trick. (Note: I also ran into a Ghanaian who "helped" me find the shirt, and wanted to exchange email addresses and phone numbers. I later got an email from him, letting me know that our meeting was a "divine connection" and that we had some "matters to discuss" so I should give him a call. I think someone wants an invitation to the Promised Land! Best strategy here is to "forget" the meeting ever happened.)
Having finally finished all my business in Accra, I boarded a bus to Kumasi, the site of my headmaster's funeral. Kumasi is Ghana's second largest city, and is about 5 hours from Accra. The bus was quite nice inside, and had big reclining seats and footrests. I could tell most of the people inside were the more well-to-do Ghanaians. On the way up to Kumasi I met a Ghanaian who was living in the UK and had come back to Ghana for an engagement, and a man who was the founder of a Ghanaian NGO. It sounded as though he has just secured some rather substantial funding, and was rather happy about it. Aside from three stops due to mechanical trouble, the ride up was mostly uneventful, and mostly comfortable. Stay tuned - the Kumasi funeral is coming up next!
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