Two weeks before I was to embark on my first trip to the US, I finally went to an internet café to find out exactly where the state of Ohio was on the map. I was to spend the next four years in Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH where I had applied and being accepted for a Bachelor of Arts program but I had no idea where it actually was. Thus when people have asked me whether I am from Africa, I often wonder if I should give them an education, offer a blunt reply or just plain ignore them. Of course I went on the internet to do my research and so could everyone else but I only did it because I needed to. So instead of a ranting piece on the lack of curiosity about the world that is exhibited by many an American, I will just go ahead and give a Ghana 101 from my perspective with the hope that someone reading this piece even by accident can help spare me a few awkward moments.
1. My English is good, yes. This is because we actually speak and learn English – the Queen’s English, that is –comprehension, grammar and composition.
2. Just like you do not speak American, we do not speak Ghanese or African. There are at least 47 different languages spoken in Ghana alone.
3. Ghana is the country. Africa is a continent, not a country. I am Ghanaian, and African, just like you are American and North American (North America, by the way, is a continent that includes Canada, Greenland, Bermuda among others).
4. No. I do not know your church member from South Africa. Enough said.
5. We live in houses in villages, towns and cities not in the bush living a primitive life in hunting/gathering tribes (apologies to random lady I met at Cleveland Cavalier’s game). In that vein, most of us first see wild life in the zoo either at home or in the US – cue student surprised to hear I saw my first elephant at a circus in New Haven and excited when I apologized and said we actually lived in huts carried by the elephants.
6. Football, as in the one kicked with the foot, not thrown all game long, is a Religion. It is to be worshiped and not derogatorily referred to as soccer.
7. No. I did not come to the US because there are no good schools in Ghana. Our educational system is screwed up, I agree, but they are not that bad. A lot of us come here for school because of the opportunities for training outside the classroom, the free education, and sometimes, because we could not get into the professional schools in Ghana e.g. medical schools.
8. Yes. My accent is sexy, I know, but your mentioning I have one is definitely not a turn-on.
9. Yes. I am a card carrying member of the LONG (League Of extraordinary Negro Gentlemen) but your knowing me is no guarantee of membership privileges.
10. And finally, I am grateful you volunteered in Ghana as a high schooler and you are welcome again. Your semester abroad, though, does not an expert make. Do not present yourself as an authority on the subject of Ghana.
To the Ghanaians out there, send me a comment on something you would like known about Ghana/the Ghanaian. To those who want to learn about us, send me a comment asking what you would like to know. Till then, cheerio.
Prime
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This is the way I choose, the destiny I pursue
To help the unfit and the fit
To treat each according to his need
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Sunday, February 7, 2010
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