Racism and the Beach

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My roommate finally moved in this week, although she’s barely been around. We get along well, but we have much different ideas about sharing. For her everything in the room belongs to both of us. For me, my things belong to me, and her things belong to her. It’s just a cultural difference that I’ll have to get used to. On Wednesday night, she and I stayed up late as I answered her questions about what the States are like. In short, she thought that poor people didn’t exist in America at all and that you can only buy nice designer clothes/fragrances/etc in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. She was also bothered by the fact that we import so many things from other countries.

Toward the end of the conversation, we got to the subject of racism. I tried to explain that it’s not socially acceptable any more, so that even if some people still feel that way, it’s not okay for them to act on it. Then she asked if my friends and I were racist. I was shocked to hear that question, especially considering that all of us came to Africa to be among blacks on our own free will. Her logic was that we were racists because we don’t hang out with many Ghanaians. She didn’t take into consideration that there are several black Americans studying abroad here, too and that the white and black Americans all hang out together. I don’t think she even listened to my explanation about cultural differences keeping us apart and the fact that classes just started so we’ve just started meeting people outside of our hostel. This could be a touchy subject between us, I hope it doesn’t cause any problems down the line.

Aside from my roommate, this weekend I went to the beach with some other obrunis. (All of the Ghanaians we know either went home for the weekend or rejected our offer to join us). We took two tro-tros and a cab to get to a resort, only to find out that you cannot use the beach there, so we walked down the street a bit and found a public beach. The sand was so soft, and the water felt like bath water. I realized I’ve never been swimming in a warm ocean before. Even in February, the water was much warmer than it is at the Cape, even in August. The water was pretty dirty though, there was a lot of trash floating around, mostly black plastic bags. The bags are used at every store/market every time you buy something from jewelry to food. They litter the streets everywhere you go, so I wasn’t surprised to find them in the ocean. The beach experience was far from a relaxing day sunbathing and reading a good book. I spent most of my time fending off men who wanted to be my friend and get my phone number or helping the other girls do the same thing. Whenever some of us went into the water, a crowd would form around us, everyone wanting to know which state we’re from (no one can pronounce Massachusetts) and if they can visit us sometime when we return home. They were all very friendly and meant no harm, but it’s tough always being the center of attention and never being able to blend in with the crowd.

On the way home, we caused a fist fight at the tro-tro station. We were travelling in a group of eight girls. Being at the back, I wasn’t sure if we knew which tro-tro to get on, or if we were still looking, so when one of the mates (the tro-tro drivers’ helpers) said he could take us back to the university, I called everyone over. Little did I know the girls at the front had already found someone to take us and the two mates got into a fight. A crowd grew around them and the fight got to be very intense. One of the mates ended up with a ripped shirt, but fortunately there was no blood. While all of that was going on, we found a third tro-tro to take us home and boarded it and bought snacks while we waited for the rest of the seats to fill up before we could leave.

Exhausted from such an eventful day, we decided to go to the movies tonight at the Accra Mall, which is about 15 minutes away from our hostel. We saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; I don’t recall seeing anything but American movies playing at the theater. The mall is like a tiny slice of America in the middle of Ghana, and the movie theater was exactly like one at home. It almost made me homesick to be in a familiar environment watching an American film with other Americans but at the same time being so far away from home and my family and friends. It probably would have been harder for me if I had gone somewhere more westernized because my daily life would have been so similar. I think in that respect, it’s been easier for me to be in Ghana because it is so different from home. Here, I have a million distractions and new experiences to engage my mind and keep myself from missing home too much.

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Comments

[Aunt Pat]

Ah! Homesickness
Nicole, I know that you will get through this okay. When I was young and went to Europe, I got homesick, too. Time will go by very quickly now that classes have started. We all keep you in mind and pray that you have an experience of a lifetime. Love to you, Aunt Pat