Author: James Robinson II Major: Social Work Country: Ghana Program: External 

AKWAABA (Welcome) 

It is 11:00 p.m. GMT on May 29th. I land at the Kotoka International Airport in Ghana sweaty and tired. My first time taking steps in another continent did not go as imagined. On the flight to Accra, I was given a blue piece of paper to fill out signifying that I was visiting the African country. I walked to the area to claim my baggage: a 66-pound suitcase, a 50-pound suitcase, and 20-pound carry-on. I had to tie two of them together to make sure that I could carry all of them. Right before reaching the exit door, I was stopped by one of the airport workers. The woman asked me to present her my blue piece of paper. I stuffed it in one of my suitcases, and I had no clue of where it went. I struggled for what felt like a lifetime attempting to find the paper. It got to the point where the woman told me that I could leave my luggage at the airport and pick it up the next day. That was not an option for me. After she told me that and one last search, I finally found it. I handed her the paper, and caught up with the rest of my group. We were taken to our hostel, but only the females got to move in; apparently, there were not enough rooms for the 10 guys on the trip. For the first three days, we were placed in temporary housing that was without Wi-Fi, and 30 minutes away from the hostel by foot. 

My class schedule was different every weekday.  I walked a half-hour to get to my classes every day. I need to mention that it is very humid in Ghana, so sweating was inevitable. Some days went from two in the afternoon to six-thirty, other days were a full eight to five (8-5). My African Music and Dance professor said that humans have been singing and dancing since birth; our crying was actually singing and our kicking was dancing. The Social Service Delivery Systems (SSD) course provided me the opportunity to explore Ghana outside of the city. Every Tuesday, my class travelled to different regions of Ghana, interviewing a variety of people, from female porters, known as the Kayayei, to a Queen Mother of a Ghanaian village. I took Service Learning as a course, and this allowed me to volunteer my time and energy at a couple of non-governmental organizations (NGO) in Accra. I helped promote a health screening for Hepatitis B and high blood pressure at the West African Aids Foundation (WAAF), and I also assisted in starting a GoFundMe to raise money for books and soccer cleats for the Play and Learn Foundation. 

Before I left for Ghana, Associate Dean Popp told me that if I did not do anything else while abroad, I had to try a West African dish called fufu; a mixture of cassava, plantains, and water submerged in a soup of one’s choice. As an optional class through my program, I took a Ghanaian Traditional Arts & Cuisine Workshop, where I was able to make fufu. Churning and pounding the ingredients while in the sun was a workout. My most notable road trips were the Cape Coast Slave Castle and an Eco Tour to the Volta region. The history books do not thoroughly explain the true record of slavery in Africa. Physically walking in the same spot where millions of slaves once stood left me speechless. My tour guide took my group to a small holding cell, and told us that the slaves were held there together until each one died. It was hard to visualize standing in a blacked-out cell, without ventilation and surrounded by rodents, feces, urine, etc. I was able to see the slave dungeons and the “Door of No Return”, a huge wooden door that the slaves were pushed through and shipped across the Atlantic Ocean. On the Volta EcoTour, I travelled to the Tafi-Atome village to visit the monkey sanctuary. This area hosts a cohabitation between the villagers and the Mona monkeys; because the monkeys are perceived by the people as messengers of their gods. The best part about it was that I got the chance to feed bananas to a few of the monkeys. The next day, I hiked Mount Afadjato, the highest mountain in Ghana (885 meters). What was really interesting was that one person in my group climbed to the top of the mountain in twenty-five minutes… BAREFOOT. After forty-six minutes of me realizing how out-of-shape I was, I made it. Both mentally and physically taxing, but the view from the peak of Ghana was breathtaking. I was in for a surprise on the way back down. Mount Afadjato was slightly muddy so that made the decline incredibly challenging. No more than ten minutes in, someone called my name for help; the soles of her shoes were torn off as she was going up the mountain so she had no grip going back down. I turned around, held her hand, and guided her down to flat land. As I helped her out, some other people needed assistance as well. I spent about an hour helping others get off the mountain. 

I experienced culture shock from the very beginning. First, Ghanaians have no sense of personal space. Two feet apart from each other is too far for them. In addition to that, Ghanaians are extremely friendly. I thought ‘southern hospitality’ was the top tier, but Ghanaians took their friendliness to the next level. While I was in the market ordering food, a Ghanaian male initiated a welcoming conversation with me. Over the next week, I saw him again at that same market. He taught me a few words in Twi and what my Ghanaian name would be based on the day I was born. He told me that he did not make enough money that day selling jewelry to feed his daughter. Not truly understanding the situation, I gave him five cedis (1 USD). The following week, he somehow found the site of my dance class, and walked with my group back to the market. On the way back, he told me that he wanted me to go with him to the pharmacy so he could buy malaria pills for his daughter. I was very skeptical, so a friend found a way to get me out of the situation. He found me again a week later, and it got real uncomfortable to the point where it felt like stalking. I later learned that he was a beggar; I was just blind to it because of his friendliness. A few other cultural differences included not smelling the food before I took a bite, and not being able to use my left hand. Both of these are seen as disrespectful and taboo in Ghanaian society, and the latter took me a while to get used to.  

Without a doubt, I would absolutely recommend this USAC’s study abroad program to Accra, Ghana to other students. My SSD professor thanked my class for studying abroad in a less-developed country; like Ghana, because it allowed us the chance to point out the large and small differences between Ghana and the United States. I really enjoyed going through an external program like USAC because I was able to share that experience with people from all four corners of the United States, and everywhere in between. I wish I would have known just how hot it can get in Ghana, even during its rainy season. The trip gave me a richer history of both the country of Ghana and the continent of Africa. Also, a more established sense of gratitude for the resources I have here in the states. From having lizards and bed bugs in my hostel, and the constant reminder of taking my malaria pills each day to having safety, security, clean drinking water, and air conditioning it was a major transition of comfortability. 

Medasse (Thank you), 

James Robinson II