The time has finally come. After about two days of traveling I finally arrived in Ghana. When I first stepped out of the airport it was a sensory overload-my stomach dropped, but in the best way possible. We were greeted with Leslie smiling and rushing us to the parked car where she introduced us to a man named Doc with very dapper shoes and a welcoming presence to our new home. As we began the drive from the airport to the home we would be staying in for the next six weeks, I couldn’t take my eyes off the window. I was quick to notice all the advertisements along the drive and trying to get myself caught up on what is seen as normal to prepare for my internship at Emerge Advertising, here in Accra.
The jet lag was rough during the first day of classes, but the more I gained energy the more I was ready to embrace everything around me. We heard from Professor Asare Opuku, who explained to us what travelers in Ghana should know. We learned that many people introduce themselves with their Ghanaian name which is based upon gender and the day in which you’re born. This idea of creating a sense of unity between those with the same name is a bond that I wish we had with one another in America. There are many things we have just accepted in America, yet we don’t know why- something as simple as a handshake or waving to say hello. Here in Ghana, almost everything has a reason behind why it’s done. I think that’s really important in giving purpose to things that seem routine in our day to day lives.
The more we began settling into the house the more familiar I was becoming with the streets and my surroundings. One afternoon Taylor another student on the trip, realized she left her yam phone at the restaurant we went to the other night so we decided to take an Uber to go retrieve it before dark, easy enough. Companies like Uber really amaze me with how global they’ve become in such a short amount of time. We discussed how we remember not even three years ago Uber was just making a name for itself through our twitter feeds and news articles. Our driver was one of the most genuinely nice people I had met since arriving. Although many are welcoming (mostly children), it can at times feel forced or that they are supposed to be nice and tolerate us. We came to find out his name was Anthony and he was a motivational speaker. He took a genuine interest in us beyond the typical questions of why we were here or for how long.
Halfway there he was pulled over for running a red light. This is when I knew this wasn’t going to be as smooth sailing as anticipated. He got out to talk to the officer and told us to wait in the car. He returned ticket free, explaining that he bribed his way out of the ticket by lying that he was a part time officer too and that they were brothers. Each ticket can range from around 30-50 cedis-which he said would inconvenience him and use his money for nothing helpful. This began to give me an insight into how this country tends to be regulated. We continued the drive to the restaurant, accompanied by our many questions about what things are like in Ghana. We then asked him if he had ever had malaria, a life threatening disease caused by a mosquito bite and also very common here. He told us his body has become immune now at age 40; He said that his beliefs keep him above sickness. This statement shocked me to say the least. The confidence and assurance he had in himself when saying this led me to question what I would believe if I too was living permanently in a malaria prone country.
After this he began to explain his faith in God and his religious beliefs. In America people are so quick to be uncomfortable with the idea of religion that they don’t follow or believe in. I think what I’ve come to realize after this conversation was that believing in something whether it’s a religious practice or not, can be a lot simpler than we make it out to be. I think believing in something bigger than us is just a way to find hope and trust in security for our life. Very often religion becomes the thing that separates us when it doesn’t have to. We all have hopes and aspirations and at times they seem beyond our reach, but having a sense of trust that is will all turn out one way or another, is a feeling that everyone, no matter how different, can relate to.