Christianity and...Ghana

This post is actually adopted from a response to one of my Camp Tekoa return staff application questions. It just seemed appropriate because I've been meaning to blog about this for a while. It's a little edited, seeing as how in this one there's no mention of camp.

My spiritual growth over the past few months has been quite a different experience. I remember back when I was applying to study abroad that I wrote about wanting to experience a different type of religious culture. I definitely got what I asked for, maybe even a little more. The faiths here are similar to the US- mostly Christian and Muslim. The way Christianity is practiced is very intense though. The church services are very, very long. I’ve been to a few, some I really enjoyed, some I did not. What I really like about Christianity in Ghana is that it is very community-based, where people pray in groups a lot and there is always some big event or seminar going on. And there is so much excitement during worship. People are joyful about praising God. What bothers me a little though is the way the name Jesus is commercialized. His name is put on everything- the back of buses, fast food stands, convenient stores, etc. And it doesn’t feel quite so welcoming. Christianity seems like more of a club or cult here than a faith. And I don’t mean always, but sometimes a lot of my friends and I get that vibe. It seems like people are sometimes Christian just to be religious, because everyone else is doing it.

This has really made me think about my own faith as well as Christianity as a whole. How many times have I prayed or helped someone in need because people were watching and I knew I needed to? How many times have I prayed or helped someone in need because I was being sincere and was actually feeling and sharing God’s love? I really hope it has been the second one much more often. 

On another point, some of my closest friends here are either atheist, agnostic, or experimenting with religion. If you are not a very religious person and you come to Ghana, daily conversations can get a little frustrating, because people love to ask about your religion, and are surprised if you don’t really have any beliefs. Sometimes conversations with my friends can get a little controversial, but I don’t love them any less because of it. It’s been really interesting to hear so many different viewpoints and why they think the way they do. It’s made me think back on why I really am a Christian. Faith isn’t quite as real when you follow it for no real reasons. It’s important for us to understand for ourselves why we pray, worship, and believe. Only then are we able to truthfully influence others.

The Hunt For Guitar Strings

This was one of the most frustrating days I’ve had since being in Ghana. So I thought it was worth writing a little story on. Last week my friend Jamie and I took an afternoon to go to one of the markets to get some guitar strings. My D string snapped about 2 weeks ago, so I’ve been itching to restring the guitar since. I told him I knew where one shop was in Madina. Since Madina is the closest market to campus, we hopped on a tro-tro around noon to make what was supposed to be a simple errand. We got off at the station, walked around until we saw the shop. Both of us have nylon string guitars, so nylons were what we were looking for. The owner of this shop said he had steel strings but no nylons. Okay so first attempt doesn’t work. Oh well. He pointed us in the direction of somewhere else that might have had them. After missing the road a couple times, we walked down the street that the shop was supposedly on. We saw a sign for music equipment, but the shop was nothing more than a small shack with some speakers that I’m pretty sure were broken. The guy there wasn’t much help either. We gave up in Madina and tro-tro’d back towards campus. Jamie got off there because he had class, but I stayed on to head into Accra where Makola market is. I was told in the past by people on campus to go to a place called Zungolen (not sure about the spelling but that’s how it sounds) to get guitar equipment. With help from some Ghanaians in the busy market, I found the place and was really excited. I asked for nylon strings, but sure enough, they didn’t have them either. The guy at the desk helped me out though and told me to go to a shop around the corner called Unibex. I went there, and thought I saw the light at the end of the tunnel when I could see stacks of strings against the wall behind the desk. I asked the lady for strings, she showed me what they had, then I asked “do you have any nylon strings? I’m looking for nylon.” She said “Ohhh no. The nylon strings, they are finished.” My heart sank. I asked when she would be getting more nylon strings, but she didn’t know (this didn’t surprise me at all). So I headed back to campus after a wasted afternoon (seriously, this search took around 5 hours). The only thing I can really take from this is that I know my way around Madina and Makola a lot better now.

That day at the markets was not a complete shock, even though it was very disappointing. I’ve learned to expect not being able to get what you’re looking for, especially when it’s something as specific as guitar strings. The market can be fun sometimes, but days like these can be exhausting. There’s just no organization at all, and there’s no telling if a shop will actually have what they advertise. This is especially common in restaurants. Sometimes, only half the menu is really available. I’ll ask for something and they’ll say “Oh, those are finished,” which means they are out of that until they get more, whenever the heck that may be. That phrase has become one of my least favorite things to be told here, but it’s also become an inside joke between all the obroni’s because we hear it so much. I really like getting things from the market usually because I can bargain for the price, but I have grown such an appreciation for the simplicity of driving to the nearest store at home in the US, walking in and looking in the labeled racks, or asking for something, and actually being able to buy it, using a debit card, or if using cash, being able to get change back no matter what size bill I hand them. 

Kokrobite

So I have seen lots and lots of beautiful places so far, but one of my favorite places to go, perhaps my favorite place in Ghana, is Kokrobite. Imagine you are on vacation with some really good friends. You go somewhere exotic like Hawaii or Mexico where there’s tons of palm trees, bars under tiki huts, a calm quiet atmosphere, and an incredible beach. Only you’re really in Ghana. And you’re a student. And everything is super cheap. And locals are really friendly (or sometimes creepy friendly and ask for your phone number right away, but you get use to it). Kokrobite is so much fun I have been there twice already and am going back soon.

It’s about an hour and a half journey from the university, although it took 4 hrs last Friday because of the ridiculous traffic. We usually take a couple different tro-tro’s and a taxi or two to get there. I’m not sure but I think Kokrobite is the name of the actual town that the “resort-like” area is in. So we have to walk through the village after being dropped off at the tro-tro stop. It’s pretty nice. Everyone is really friendly and says hello. The actual tourist spot to stay is called Big Milly’s Backyard. It’s like a low-key resort with an out-door bar, a beachside restaurant, a mixed-drink bar (very very good), guest cabins and loft, vendors, and a stage for Friday night traditional drumming & dance and Saturday night reggae. With the vendors, what is so nice is how chill they are. They are not pushy and will usually give good prices if you speak Twi with them. The food- probably the best part. The restaurant next to the beach, Big Milly’s, serves great breakfast and amazing dinner (you even have to order dinner in advance earlier in the day). But even better is a place right outside the Backyard called Kokrobite Gardens. It’s an Italian restaurant. I’m not talkin’ American-Italian. I mean full Italian-Italian. The owner is an Italian man who has lived here a while. There I have had some of the best pizza, pasta, cake, and Sicilian wine ever.

What’s funny is that there’s always tons of obroni’s (white people) there. Usually American students from the university or Europeans who are volunteering or are on vacation. Financially it surprises me because it’s completely free to enter the Backyard and enjoy the beach. I guess all the tourists drive away the interest of locals. Oh well. I like this place so much I devoted a whole blog post to it, which are becoming worth more and more as I have written less and less of them. I should really pick up the slack. Anyway, there you have it. Kokrobite.

Luxuries of home

At this point in the semester I have realized things I have missed the most and truly appreciate back home. I'm mainly listing material things and some ideas. I won't do people because that list would get pretty lengthy. I don't mean to complain here either. This is just from some of the major differences I've noticed. I thought some of the things on this list might amuse some people.

toilet paper provided in stalls
hot water
clean water
easy internet access
laundry machines
power outage being an unusual event
customer service
an organized school system
no oburoni traps (***see bottom for explanation)
air conditioning
my bicycle
my banjo & harmonicas
Campus Crusade
bluegrass
bacon
dairy products
D.H Hill Library at NC State
sarcasm humor
That's what she said jokes
Dolly's Ice Cream
Cook Out
Camp Tekoa

***no oburoni traps- So in Ghana the sewage system is covered in some areas, but mostly it runs along the side of the road completely open. It's usually about a foot or two deep and and about a foot wide, just enough room for someone to fall in when trying to step across from the sidewalk to the road. The Twi word for white person is 'oburoni', and who else besides international students would not be use to the trenches along side the road? I luckily haven't fallen in one yet but plenty of my friends have, and they can scar you up pretty bad if you fall bad. Hence we have given them the name "oburoni traps", and it has definitely stuck.

Language barriers

It's true that the official language in Ghana is English, but that is really more for political and educational purposes. I will say though that I have been fine getting around with English because everyone does indeed know it, just some more than others. I was just so taken back at how little Ghaniains use English between each other on a regular basis. Around the university area and in town I'll usually here Twi, Ga, Ewe, and Pigeon English being spoken. The only one I can really recognize is Twi and sometimes Pigeon. It gives off such a weird vibe when I hear something I don't understand and I see the people talking staring at me. But I've gotten that feeling before at home when it looks like Hispanics are talking about me nearby. Really should have taken Spanish. Oh well. I've been enjoying my Twi class though. It has been very helpful. I'm still learning but I can communicate every now and then when a local initiates a conversation in Twi. The usual "how are you?" "good and you?" "pretty good" sounds like "Wo ho te sεn?"  "Me ho yε. Na wo nso ε?"  "Me nso me ho yε."  With phrases like this people can generally understand the American accent, but for more in depth conversations a small error in pronunciation could change the whole meaning of a sentence because Twi is a tonal language unlike English which is positional.

So I was thinking how hard could class be if the language is English? In two of my classes I understand about half the things the professors say sometimes because of the Ghaniain accent and the poor acoustics of the lecture hall. Luckily the material in the classes isn't that hard. I'm just gonna have to read a lot more than rely on lecture notes. I find it really funny when people ask me to slow down when I'm talking. In the US we usually talk a little bit slower in the south, but here my slurred accent has confused so many Ghaniains. But I've started to adjust and develop a slower and more articulate speech when talking to Africans. All in all most locals have been very patient with all of us international students on language problems and sometimes they give out some good pointers.

Soccer game & Festival

Wow it's been over a week since the last post. I'm really slack about this. Anyway, this weekend was pretty neat. I went to my first international soccer game ever (never even seen the US team play). Ghana played Swaziland and won 2-0. It was really exciting. The soccer atmosphere here is so different. The game definitely has much more appreciation than back home. It wasn't completely packed but it was plenty loud. I don't think there was one second with the absence of the sound of one of those plastic horns you hear at the world cup. And it was so funny when our group sat down because from that moment on vendors came swarming around us trying to sell food and drinks and souvenirs. But by this point I'm not surprised anymore when that happens.
On Saturday I went with a group on a bus to a festival in Cape Coast. I feel really dumb because I can't remember the name of it, but it was so much fun. There were lots of costumes and music, which was paraded down the streets. On the end of the parade people were carrying the 'Queen Mother' on a massive chair under an umbrella. I can't remember exactly her role in the town but I'm guessing she is some sort of political or spiritual leader. What I find funny is the fact that most people and Ghana are either Christian or Muslim and they have a festival that celebrates the indigenous beliefs. Guess it goes to show how much they hold strong to their traditions. Cape Coast is a pretty interesting town. The first time we went there we just took a tour of the slave castle (which was mind blowing) and didn't see much of the town. This time we definitely got to see the downtown area. It's so different from Accra (the capitol). Accra is so mixed because there's areas of poverty while there's also huge modernized American style buildings for phone companies and resorts and other things. Cape Coast is still very colonial and not so 'in your face.' And from what we experienced on Saturday, it can be very festive and colorful.
If there's one thing I've really enjoyed about culture outside the university, it's that at events like these everyone is generally in a very happy mood and pretty friendly. It's so unlike America where on holidays families might kind of do their own thing. Sometimes it feels as though I'm observing one big giant family. Definitely a more communistic culture.

Classes

The past week has been the first week of class. Also a time to finish up registration. Yes I know it's crazy that we can still register for classes. I was scrambling around campus all week still trying to figure out what to take. See it's not like back home where there's a simple online procedure months in advance. The time tables for class are scattered about the university on boards at each department (some weren't even up until right before the first day of class). So researching for classes can literally take days (which it did). And most of the time, there are a few errors in the times or lecture hall, so nothing is for sure. To register, I had to walk in the department offices, fill out a form and give them a passport size photo (I still don't know what for). Then I have to fill out a course registration form that lists all my classes, which I turn into the International Office and they register everything online for me (which is a plus, because trying to get on the internet here can be a pain). On the upside of the chaos of registration, I know my way around campus extremely well thanks to all the walking back and forth each day.
Some of the classes have been very interesting. Some not, specifically the math unfortunately. I've noticed that math professors here love to teach theory and do little to no examples, so it's been a little difficult. The philosophy classes have been cool though. More discussion and less note taking. I'm also auditing a guitar class, which is so much fun. Somehow I've been lucky the past week seeing as how I only had one class where the professor didn't show up for the first session. A lot of my friends had at least 2 or 3 or more classes canceled last week b/c of no-shows. What's funny is that this is normal here. That's why a lot of local students don't come to class the first week because there's a good chance the professor might not show, and even if they do, it's basically just a syllabus day.
This is a good representation of how Ghanaians perceive time. Everyone here is so chill about just about everything. It's not unusual to be late to almost everything. It was frustrating at first, but I kind of like it because I feel like I'm never in a rush. It is tough though when I really need something, like information for registration or a bank account to be opened up as soon as possible, because there's no telling how long it can take. And when someone says they will meet you in half an hour it means an hour or two most likely. Oh well. If you can't keep a go with the flow attitude here you'll never survive. What's great is that if someone ever asks me where I've been I can use the excuse, "Come on, don't you know we're on Africa time?"

Last days of orientaion...

So to pick up from the last post...Wednesday was pretty awesome. From the beach the past Sunday we were told by some locals about the reggae night that takes place every Wednesday, so we (my ISEP group) decided to check it out. Getting there was an experience itself. Waiting a long time for a taxi, then arguing over the price when we got picked up. No biggie though, we got to the beach around 10:30ish. The music sounded great! Lots of people hanging out. Some were dancing, some sitting. Eventually a lot of us went up and danced. Reggae is so fun to dance to because it's so chill, a lot less crazy than club music, so we were up and about for a while. Met a lot of cool people out in front of the stage. I'm not gonna lie, some of the men were a little creepy, but for the most part everyone's there just to have a good time. Reggae night was probably one of the most fun things I've been to so far.
Thursday I took my first ride on a tro-tro. A tro-tro is basically an old van used for public transportation around town. From outside it looks a little sketchy, but it's actually really fun. You just stand at the bus stop and yell out to the conductor (or fee collector) asking where they are headed and depending on your destination you hop on. It's pretty crammed. Those things probably fit around 15 people or so. And the ride is bumpy and shaky because of the roads and the absence of any effective road laws. But it's a great way to get around, especially because it's so cheap. The average ride costs 30 to 50 pesawas, which would be about 20 to 35 cents in American money.
This weekend we went on the trip I was really looking forward to. Over to Cape Coast to see the slave castle and then to Kakum National Forest to go on the canopy walk. The castle was quite a historical highlight. We got a tour of the castle, the bedrooms, the dungeons, everything. I couldn't get over walking around a place that so many people had fought in and suffered in many many years ago.
Kakum might be the second best thing I've experienced next to Reggae night. We hiked up a trail in the rain forest to the canopy walks. They're like rope bridges held by massive trees that overlook the forest. It was amazing! One of my friends in the group kept saying "Bobby we are so lucky to be here!!" And I couldn't agree more. It was hard to believe I was really in Africa walking over a rain forest. What an extraordinary blessing.
I'd like to step aside from the attractions and share some about the culture shock and the people so far but I'll save that for the next post b/c it looks like this one got a little lengthy.

Orientation Week

So sorry I've neglected to write anything the past several days I've been here. My group has been so busy. And please forgive me if these posts are sloppy. Never blogged before. So anyway it has been amazing so far. Ghana is such a beautiful country. So much tropical plant life and exotic animals. Flying in on the plane seeing the country side right outside of Accra was really cool. The airport was the first surprise. It was so much smaller than I imagined. And getting through didn't take that long. I guess they don't get nearly as many flights through the area like Washington Dulles does, which is where I departed from. I met up with my group at the Accra airport and loaded up on a bus. They took all our bags and tied them to the top of the bus! Then we rode through the insane traffic to the International Hostel on campus. There's not really a speed limit on the roads so everyone really has to watch out for themselves. And people just walk out in the middle of the street any time they need to cross. Also, anytime you make a stop at an intersection, there are people that come up selling all kinds of food. And as a group of American students, we definitely attracted a lot of attention.

The hostel is really nice. Two beds to a room like normal, and every room has an outdoor balcony. There's no air conditioning, but the fans do just fine (until the dry season comes). The biggest difference I've noticed about the dorms here is that everything is outdoor based. There is nothing that is completely sealed off so there's always plenty of fresh air. And the courtyard is really nice. There's a little kitchen/restaurant on the bottom floor that most students hang around, so there's always someone to talk to.

The campus is amazing. So beautiful. Most of the technology isn't quite as advanced as on most campuses in the US, but the atmosphere of the school itself makes up for it. It kind of reminds me of Duke the way it is so spread out with lots of trees and plants. Just think of Duke and African-ize it! It's funny to see the reactions of locals as we tour the campus. Most Ghanians are very friendly if you say hello, and some just gave us weird looks as we passed buy. One thing we've been taught to remember is to always greet people when you enter their vicinity. This sounds simple but let me give you an example. If you were to walk inside an office and pass the person at the front without a greeting and then come back needing something, they would be less likely to help you. Or if you come across a group of people and speak directly to one person without acknowledging the others, they will be insulted. Luckily I haven't crossed these lines yet but I will have to keep remembering.

Probably the craziest thing I've experienced so far is the downtown market on Oxford St in Accra. Once our bus pulled up, people were swarming around us to sell their merchandise. I have never gotten so much attention in half an hour's time. If I even started to talk to someone who greeted me, they assumed I was going to buy something. They were very pushy and good with their words. What was so fun about it was the bargaining. There's no set price on anything. They would give a price and it was up to us to get them to lower it. Usually best to offer them half of what they propose, then play it from there. One guy on the street asked me my name once I got off the bus, then 20 minutes later, he had threaded a bracelet with my name on it, so I definitely bought it, after settling on a price with him.

This is just the beginning! It has been a lot of fun so far. The other students in my group as well as the others living in the International Hostel are really nice, and our student guides our great people. I'll post again sometime soon. The Ghanian students move in soon, and classes start on monday. Can't wait!