Obruni Life

I am a white person, as I am constantly reminded when children chant “obruni, obruni!” at me (or sometimes they try out their English and chant “white man, white man” – too bad I am a woman. Haha). As much as I may try to learn how to live and behave like a Ghanaian, I am always going to be an obruni. Here are some stories to illustrate:

The first thing that I noticed was that everywhere that I went, people offered me a chair. It drove me crazy because I was tired of sitting all the time and wanted to stand, or walk around. However, I also realized that there was probably a reason why people were so concerned with me always sitting. I asked my host father why people always told me to sit and he said that people feel tired for me when I am standing. So now I have learned to accept the chair more often, accept the honor of it, and accept that my sitting will put others at ease. But, I also know how to say “I will not sit” in Gikyode now! Mankyena!

People still have a hard time believing that I eat Ghanaian food. This always surprises me since I have been here nearly a month now. Of course I eat Ghanaian food! Yet they still say “You actually know how to eat fufu!” I reply yes and they laugh. And then they say “And you like it?!” And I say yes and they laugh some more.

People like to laugh at me. I’ve learned that they laugh because it is ridiculous to see an obruni try to act like a Ghanaian, not because I am doing things wrong. I just seem to be able to provide endless entertainment to Ghanaians just by doing the normal things they do everyday.

Sometimes I try to go down to the river with my host siblings to get water. My host sister can carry a huge amount of water in the pot on her head. They gave me a small bucket and filled it halfway. It was still too heavy. Haha. Unfortunately, the bucket was see-through so everybody enjoyed pointing out and laughing that my bucket was only partially full while I was walking back to the house! However, even if I could carry as much water as my sister, they would laugh because I am a white person trying to act like them. But they also love that I am trying. They all greet me and remember me and laugh and it is good.

This same thing happens if I try to:

1. Help with cooking (this also brings marriage proposals)

2. Do any type of manual labor

3. Wash my clothes (this also brings marriage proposals)

4. Ride on a motorbike (though I admit that I looked ridiculous enough to laugh at)

But people don't seem to laugh at me if I wear Ghanaian clothing. I'm considering this to be a good thing.