Recently we took a trip to a town called Aburi where we visited the local botanical gardens and a woodcarving village. The gardens were beautiful and had an interesting history, especially the Strangler Ficus Tree which over a period of about thirty years completely took over the host tree, which eventually becomes hollow. The one we were able to see was completely taken over so we could walk inside of the trunk. It was pretty amazing.
After the garden we went to a woodcarving village where I had a great conversation with a local shopkeeper. One thing I have found out about Ghanaians is they always want to know your story, and if you are willing to listen they will share theirs as well. He told me about where he grew up, his family, political beliefs, and struggles. I just listened. It was a humbling experience for me hearing his story, and it was comforting that he wanted to share it with me.
People are always interested in why we decided to come to Ghana–if we are here are on a mission or traveling with Peace Corps. At first it was exhausting explaining to everyone at home I’m not going to Africa to live in a hut surrounded by wild animals and war zones trying to save children, but rather to learn, explore, and gain professional experience. I hope that with my time here and in the future, I can contribute to reshaping that skewed vision of the African story.
Local people love to hear about how we decided to live and work here for the summer. It gives us a unique perspective actually riding tro-tros, washing our clothes in buckets, and becoming accustomed to frequent power outages. As challenging as it can become at times, especially when I just want a piece of pizza and a microbrew, I absolutely love it here. Everyone, and I mean everyone, from the children getting out of school to the woman selling goods by my work, welcomes me (Akwaaba!) and wants to know how I am doing. I think that is pretty special. There are some areas in the States that have very tight-knit communities, but I haven’t experience much of anything like Ghana.
Although our group house is not the average Ghanaian house, we are learning a lot as we are beginning to figure out the difference between necessities and luxuries. I can’t say I won’t be ecstatic to go home to air conditioning, clean rivers, and good ol’ American food, but this experience is shaping my perspective of the world much differently.