I Walk The Line

I remember when I first came to Accra six and-a-half months ago, I had this wonderful idea that I would slowly adapt and become assimilated into Ghanaian culture - changing my clothes, speaking some Twi, playing whatever sports Ghanaians play (apparently football) and hanging out with all of my new Ghanaian friends, doing what Ghanaians like to do (apparently go to church all the time).

Isn't that so adorable? Looking back, I can see how idealistic and perhaps unrealistic I once was. The truth of the matter is, I haven't become assimilated - if anything, I've become even MORE aware of my own culture and how proud I am of it. I never learned any useful Twi, because my school wouldn't give me credit for the classes. Arabic is fun, but us Canadians look like idiots when we can't converse with Ghanaians in their native language. That's a key to being respected here, so for the time being, we're all just ignorant foreign tourists who never bothered to learn the language. Trust me, learning the local language can make a large difference.

I'm no good at playing football, although I am learning the finer points of the game and can talk about it with people. Finally, it's really hard to make Ghanaian friends, especially when having to sift through who are trying to get a free ride from you/sell something to you and who genuinely wants to be your friend. In addition, it's hard to make deep relationships with people who think and act much differently that you. The (probably vast) majority of Ghanaians aren't interested in travelling around or world politics. University students yes, but most others are relatively humble and simple folk, so it can be tempting to spend more time with other like-minded international students instead.

However, for all of my failings in adapting to Ghanaian culture, I think I've done a decent job. Instead, I could have been a typical Western expatriate, like an embassy worker: wear fancy Western clothes, eat out at expensive restaurants, drive an SUV, (of course, for those treacherous Accra streets), shop for groceries at Koala or Max Mart live in a high-security compound with DSTV (satellite) and air conditioning. And these people have the nerve to say they "lived in Africa".

I definitely don't buy into that and hope I never will. I like to think that by wearing "normal" clothes, (save for the shorts, which no Ghanaian university student would be caught dead wearing) taking tro-tros, eating local chop bar food like waakye and akple in groundnut sauce (yum!), buying food from fruit and veggie stands (where you haggle because prices AREN'T fixed) and using the local slang ("Chalay, how?" = "Hello sir, how are you?"), I've been able to see a bit of Ghanaian society that so many people pass over because they simply can't handle the culture shock.

All in all, I like to think that I've been able to walk the line between being a local and expat while living here. Yes, I spend more money on comforts and live a semi-charmed life here that I wouldn't have access to back home, but I try to be humble as well, trying to find that balance. I'm happy with the state of things nowadays and I feel like because I haven't been reaching hopelessly for a nativist ideal, I can start living my life here on my own terms.