One weekend while on the trip we visited Kumasi which is a bustling city just north of Accra in Ghana. This city has the second largest marketplace in all of Africa which was incredible to find out but because it was so big it was also jam-packed and we really didn’t have much time to stop and look and didn’t stay long. Among visiting this place and many others we saw many museums about the tribal culture that is in Kumasi and it was awesome. Learning about the value they held with their kings and the specific type of stools kings would sit on to dignify their rank. I tried to wrap my head around the fact that a stool could carry so much weight but in the end through all I learned at these places it made a lot more sense and became much more profound. Walking through these museums and markets made me realize though that it still felt like an outsider looking in and it was tough to change that. Everyone who runs these establishments sees you as an outsider and doesn’t know that you’ve been here for multiple weeks already and have tried to envelop yourself in the culture as best you can so far. They see an obroni who they can sell something too or just doesn’t know anything flat out at all. Then I can come back to Accra and be treated like a co-worker who’s been here for a weeks now, knows his way around, and can interact with locals and make friends like I’m more than just a tourist here for a week. Kumasi was amazing and all the trips we took were as well and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. It’s just interesting to me to see the contrast between how you are viewed based on what you are visiting.