My First Impressions of Ghana

After waking up and making our way to the bus station in Accra, we are now on our way to the Northern Region capital, Tamale. One recognizable feature of Ghana is the red brown earth that gets on absolutely everything. This sandy earth is everywhere and you see women sweeping it as soon as the sun rises. The resulting dust gets on every surface imaginable: cars, houses, trees, your clothes.

One thing I didn’t expect about Ghana, was its lush green foliage. As you pan up from the rust coloured earth, mango trees and palm trees provide a canopy over the relatively short infrastructure. Once out of the city there is tall green grass and dense bush that look like the beginnings of rainforests.

As we travel north through the country, the lush green of the South steps aside for a yellow background. It is much drier and hot in the North and it is illustrated through the natural environment. The green grass and bushes are replaced by rust coloured sand and yellow grass. The mango trees are still around, but the palm trees are no more and trees with only a modest amount of leaves provide the shade.

In country training has been happening over the last three days here in Tamale. This has included going into markets and just talking to random people about anything (day 1). Spending a few hours with a worker in the development sector and learning about development from a local expert (day 2). Last we needed to do some interviews on a specific topic, for me it was education in Ghana.

The first thing that has resonated with me in Ghana has been a culture of welcoming. I see people greeting eachother constantly. Lined on either side of the road are fruit venders to bike repair shops. There is a constant flow of pedestrian traffic and bicycles passing by. But along the way, everyone takes time to greet her neighbour. Here, it is customary to ask how one’s sleep was and how there family is doing. Simple greetings take a few minutes here as neighbours share their state of being with eachother.

In a market the true social dynamics are revealed. A market is the nucleus of activity. The central market in downtown Tamale is analogous to an ant colony. Completely enclosed, very narrow walk ways, and copious amount of people coming and going. You could literally spend a few hours just sitting at a stand and observing the interactions between people.

Tailors chatting as their needles pass over traditional Ghanaian cloth. Three women pounding Foo Foo in a huge mortal and pestle. A butcher is chopping the carcass of a cow as he negotiates with the consumer over a fair price. Meanwhile little girls are walking by carrying a bucket of 500ml water pouches on their head being stopped periodically for the only solution to an intolerable heat. Young boys are passing selling miscellaneous items ranging from food to electrical components. And through this your nostrils are filled with an indescribable smell.

This is only my first impression of Ghana and definitely a skewed one. I will try my best to discover what’s below the surface of this interesting culture, and hopefully immerse myself in it. Thanks for listening.

(Feb 29)