GHANA - First Impressions

I’m nearing the end of my first week in Ghana and already have so much I want to share.  My experience so far has been WONDERFUL!  Ghanaians are unbelievably warm and friendly and ALWAYS excited to chat with an “Obruni” (foreign person).  Locals will sometimes call me by my Ghanaian name, “Ama”.  Your Ghanaian name is based on the day of the week you were born (I was born on a Saturday).  The workers and other volunteers here at Women in Progress / Global Mamas have also been super helpful and are a LOT of fun!



Morgan, Rachel, Kirsten, Mel

Since I wasn’t able to answer many questions about Ghana while at home, I thought I’d summarize some of the essentials that I’ve learned since arriving.

·    I’m currently living in a volunteer house in the town of Elmina (neighboring Cape Coast) with 3 other volunteers (soon to be 12 volunteers!), Mel (the volunteer coordinator), Ellen (the house keeper) and Apphia (our security guard).  Cape Coast is the regional capital of Central Ghana and is located 2-3 hours West of Accra (the main capital of Ghana).



·    Much to my relief, Ghanaians love “Ground Nuts” (peanut butter) just like me!  It’s handmade here and readily available for sale by local street vendors. Phew!

·    So far, the food has been quite good!  There is a wonderful woman named Eli down the street who cooks delightful meals for us most evenings; I enjoyed my first of many egg sandwiches this afternoon at lunch; and street vendors sell tasty fruit on every corner (pineapples, mangos  and avocado, oh my!)

·    Ghanaians do speak English, however when talking with each other, they almost always speak in Fante, the local dialect of Central and Western regions of Ghana.

·    It is cool season now in Ghana which means temperatures hover around mid-80’s during the day and lower slightly in the evening.  It is hot, but for someone like me who enjoys warm climates, it’s plenty comfortable.  It is also the beginning of rainy season here.. so far we have lucked out and it has rained mostly at night, however throughout June/July it will start to rain quite a lot.

·    Getting around is an adventure in and of itself!  We of course do a lot of walking, but when we want to travel between Cape Coast and Elmina, we take a shared taxi (about 60 cents per person).  For longer travels (between Accra and Cape Coast for example), you can hop a Fast Car or a Tro-Tro (a shared van).

·    I understand now why internet connectivity was unclear prior to my trip.. Yes, there is internet, but its availability, reliability and speed all vary depending on where you are.  The house in Elmina where I am currently living does not have internet, but the hotel resort across the street does and it’s quite fast.  With the purchase of a monthly pool pass, I am now connected!  We also have internet at the office where we work, however it is much slower (no downloads allowed), and apparently not the most reliable.  From what I hear, internet access in general is improving every day.

·    Most Ghanaians have cell phones, and if you give them your number, they will use it.

·    Water has not been a problem, however I have heard that there are shortages from time to time.  Thus, everyone here is VERY conservative with water usage.  An emergency bucket of water is kept in the tub for bathing, and we all live by the golden rule of “if its yellow let it mellow”.

·    Electricity is readily available but must be conserved, and outages do occur.  The first couple nights in my new home were “lights out” (no electricity), however I’ve been told that outages usually only last a short time.  So far for me, the unpredictability has been more of an amusement than a burden.  The other evening we were about to order dinner from a street vendor when the power went out (it is pitch black in Ghana by 7pm).  The vendor laughed and exclaimed “Bad Ghana” as she fumbled around to find a lantern so she could cook our eggs.

Ghanaians are very proud of their country and will anxiously ask how you are liking it here whenever they meet you.  My first impression... “I’m loving it!”