Akwaaba!
First of all, welcome to my blog!
And secondly: I'm doing this for the first time - so, no judging please!
I am currently in Ghana conducting a field research for my master thesis on several smallholder cocoa farms in the remote area around Kakum National Park.
I want to share some of my experiences here, to entertain but also to educate. Germany, or "the Western parts of the World" are so different from the ways of living I am confronted with here and I think it is important to be aware of that.
After all it is still one world we are all living in and through some way or other we're all connected.
Akwaaba - Welcome
This word is widely used in Ghana. You hear it when first entering the country, your hotel, a bar or a village or just randomly on the street. Besides "obroni" it is the word I hear the most here, and "HIIIII!!!" maybe.
In general, people here are very friendly. The "welcome" comes from their hearts and if you need help, a direction or explanation, they are very eager to be of service.
Obroni means "white man" or "white woman" and basically everyone calls it after me. There is rarely a difference of age or status, though children are generally louder. White persons are still rather rare in Ghana. In the capital city Accra they are more common, but during my one week stay there I can still count the number of white people I saw in the streets on my hands.
In the villages where I am staying for my research no or very few white people have visited before. In general, there is not much traffic of strangers, no matter if black or white.
Besides the attention I receive due to my strangeness everyone is friendly, just trying to get my attention, a "good morning" or a wave, though a smile is mostly not enough to satisfy them.
And secondly: I'm doing this for the first time - so, no judging please!
This word is widely used in Ghana. You hear it when first entering the country, your hotel, a bar or a village or just randomly on the street. Besides "obroni" it is the word I hear the most here, and "HIIIII!!!" maybe.
In general, people here are very friendly. The "welcome" comes from their hearts and if you need help, a direction or explanation, they are very eager to be of service.
In the villages where I am staying for my research no or very few white people have visited before. In general, there is not much traffic of strangers, no matter if black or white.
Besides the attention I receive due to my strangeness everyone is friendly, just trying to get my attention, a "good morning" or a wave, though a smile is mostly not enough to satisfy them.
