experiencing culture
i find myself very aware of how non-african this african experience could be if i'm not careful. although i am working with ghanians, embassy culture can create a world where it is easy to clique off, build walls either real or imagined, and socially or hierarchically separate. let's be honest: i am living in a nice house with air conditioning and hot (mostly) water, where i have a man named wisdom who drives me to and from work, and a woman named gladys who leaves dinner for me on the table every night (well, except tonight. good thing because i was getting a little too used to this). not quite how one typically pictures life in west africa. since i am spending the majority of my time working, i am not out exploring the country or experiencing ghana as i would if i were a tourist. i feel relieved that i volunteered here in february and got to know the country the way i did then. we lived and worked with ghanians, took tro-tros (see earlier posts) to get around -- taxis if we were feeling a bit extravagant or in a hurry, sweated it out for hours among hundreds of ghanians also trying to get out of accra for the weekend, walked from village to village and lived with no expectation of constant running water or electricity. granted, i was only here for two weeks but i am pleasantly surprised by how much of the country i visited during that time, as are my ghanian colleagues. they keep asking if i have been to this place or that place, shocked that i have already been. one colleague was particularly surprised that i had taken tro-tros and seen ghana the way the locals live it. i in turn was surprised that she was so shocked, because it is not like me to visit a country with tourist blinders.
it strikes me now, as it has before, that there are many ways to experience living overseas. and for as culturally interested and aware as foreign service diplomats are supposed to be, it does not mean that this is always the case (although i will say this has been the case of everybody i have met here so far). of course it is necessary to strike a balance, and africa is a challenging place to be in for a lot of reasons. just as i was surprised in february when my embassy colleague expressed dismay that i was taking the "local" way around town (tro-tros and the like), i'll admit to springing for a hotel room with an a/c unit and taking a taxi when spending a bumpy hour on a tro-tro seemed needless. i try to be aware of how much new york-ness i carry around with me when i leave the city, for better or worse. i worry about the effects of living in that culture of convenience. and i think that one has to work to find a natural balance, especially in a place like ghana. realizing how unnatural this particular experience is, i am trying to ensure that i spend as much non-work time as possible experiencing the local culture.
after work today i took a two-hour walk around the osu neighborhood of accra with sarah, the woman who lives here and nannies for the family. i cant tell for the life of me her age -- she is beautiful and looks to be about 23, but has had so many experiences that she cant possibly be that young. we have fallen into a nice rhythm of sarah stopping by in the early evening to check in, sitting on the couch and chatting. i was antsy times ten to get out and walk around town today after work, and she sweetly offered to come along. it was a much more interesting walk than had i gone alone, and i learned a lot about her life. tomorrow i am going to the beach and sarah may come along. i also want to stop by the huge saturday makola market in accra, one of the biggest in the country. this is where ghanians go to do their weekend shopping. spending time outside of the office should help satisfy my urge for a real ghanian experience.
while we're on the subject of work, i will admit to really, really liking it. i feel challenged and engaged. i think this is something i could be good at. i am still not sold on the idea of the foreign service, for many reasons, but i'd be lying if i said that i was not seriously considering it. every day gets better than the last. i hope this trend continues, since i havent even been here a week yet!
it strikes me now, as it has before, that there are many ways to experience living overseas. and for as culturally interested and aware as foreign service diplomats are supposed to be, it does not mean that this is always the case (although i will say this has been the case of everybody i have met here so far). of course it is necessary to strike a balance, and africa is a challenging place to be in for a lot of reasons. just as i was surprised in february when my embassy colleague expressed dismay that i was taking the "local" way around town (tro-tros and the like), i'll admit to springing for a hotel room with an a/c unit and taking a taxi when spending a bumpy hour on a tro-tro seemed needless. i try to be aware of how much new york-ness i carry around with me when i leave the city, for better or worse. i worry about the effects of living in that culture of convenience. and i think that one has to work to find a natural balance, especially in a place like ghana. realizing how unnatural this particular experience is, i am trying to ensure that i spend as much non-work time as possible experiencing the local culture.
after work today i took a two-hour walk around the osu neighborhood of accra with sarah, the woman who lives here and nannies for the family. i cant tell for the life of me her age -- she is beautiful and looks to be about 23, but has had so many experiences that she cant possibly be that young. we have fallen into a nice rhythm of sarah stopping by in the early evening to check in, sitting on the couch and chatting. i was antsy times ten to get out and walk around town today after work, and she sweetly offered to come along. it was a much more interesting walk than had i gone alone, and i learned a lot about her life. tomorrow i am going to the beach and sarah may come along. i also want to stop by the huge saturday makola market in accra, one of the biggest in the country. this is where ghanians go to do their weekend shopping. spending time outside of the office should help satisfy my urge for a real ghanian experience.
while we're on the subject of work, i will admit to really, really liking it. i feel challenged and engaged. i think this is something i could be good at. i am still not sold on the idea of the foreign service, for many reasons, but i'd be lying if i said that i was not seriously considering it. every day gets better than the last. i hope this trend continues, since i havent even been here a week yet!