By: Jake Moore

On the way home from my second day of work in Ghana I spent the almost 30 minute car ride speaking with my Bolt driver. For context Bolt is basically Uber. For the first couple minutes the car was quiet and I expected it would be a long and silent ride home and then the driver looked at me and asked me how work was.

I was almost shocked and I didn’t give a very thorough answer. So he followed up by asking what I did. So I told him where I am working and what I do there. He kept on asking questions and I kept answering almost reluctantly. This kind of wholesome conversation isn’t something I’m used to.

I’m not ashamed to admit that this driver cracked me open like a walnut. After he asked so much of me I wanted to know about him. To start we talked about surface level things. He asked me if I like football – I’m talking about soccer here – and I asked him about his favorite teams and about the Ghanaian and African football leagues.

Closer to my destination he brought out the big guns… “Are you married yet?”. This one caught me by surprise. As a young man focused on career, marriage is not the slightest bit on my mind. So I told him no I’m not married and he once again asked me why. So we got into another conversation and I asked the same questions of him. He answered frankly and honestly. When he was done he told me he prays that I find someone and I told him I hope he finds someone as well.

I don’t really go to church and I don’t consider myself very religious but something about him telling me he would pray for me really touched me. By the end of the ride I felt seriously connected to the man and when he looked back at me and told me that he hoped to see me again I could see in his eyes and hear in his voice that he meant it.

This experience sums up much of what I have felt in Ghana so far. Sure there are chatty cab drivers in the US and they ask questions and try to make a connection, but this was different. It was authentic. The man didn’t just start talking to fill the air; there were long stretches of silence during the ride. When he asked a question it was thought out and he really wanted to know the answer. I really do hope that I see this man again.