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Voices of #TerpsAbroad - Getting to Know Ghana

Stepping outside your American Bubble
Jordan Freeman

As an American, I stuck out like a sore thumb in Ghana. While I had been abroad multiple times before, and was all too familiar with this feeling, it is always hard to deal with feeling singled out when first entering a new culture. I tried to blend in with Ghanaians, but that didn’t work. I found myself becoming frustrated with the amount of attention I received on a daily basis. Then one day, the words of my UMD anthropology advisor came back to me: “You’re going to stand out; people are going to be interested in you, use this to your advantage…”

I quickly learned that engaging people that were curious about me was a great way to learn about Ghana and Ghanaian culture. My favorite experiences during study abroad came from these interactions. Pushing past my comfort zone was the best decision I made during study abroad.
 
Getting to know Ghanaians
While at the University of Ghana, I stayed on campus in the international student housing 1, lovingly referred to as ISH 1. We all had balconies that overlooked the ‘night market’, an open air market that sold some of the best food I’ve had in my life. The women in the market quickly became my friends, and we would sit at night under the stars and talk about just about anything. Water shortages and power outages were typical of Ghana, and we often sat outside talking because there was no power.
 
I also found ways to challenge myself during classes, where I was usually the only international student. My professors and fellow classmates loved to talk to me about my studies at home and my experiences in Ghana. I even had lunch with the Dean of the school of Biochemistry and found out his sister is in Maryland (small world!).
 
It was in these simple, yet routine interactions with Ghanaians that I was able to develop friendships. From my friendships I not only found myself more immersed in the culture, but also I saw myself learning a lot more about Ghana than my American classmates who spent most of their time with Americans. I learned about the history of Ghana, racial divides, and the minutiae cultural ideologies I would have otherwise never known.
 
Traditional Ghana
In addition to my day-to-day interactions, I also had the opportunity to learn about Ghana and its people through participating in traditional ceremonies.
 
One day, while a friend and I were taking in cab back to campus, we struck up a conversation with our cab driver. By the end of the ride, he told us he was getting married in a few weeks and wanted us to attend. Our Ghanaian ‘Auntie’ Claudia had said this was fairly typical of Ghanaians, so we accepted his invitation.
 
Our Ghanaian friends dressed us up in traditional garb and sent us off to experience a traditional wedding. The women sung traditional songs and the men dressed in Kente cloth. As is characteristic of Ghana and Ghanaians, the event was filled with love, excitement, and lots of dancing (I even got to put the dance moves that I had been learning in my dance class on campus to good use).
 
I also developed a close relationship with one of my professors, who invited me to her ‘Queen Mother’ Ceremony, where she would be crowned queen of her village. The Queen Mother ceremony was very traditional filled with chiefs dressed in Kente, women dancing, and the very dramatic crowing of my professors. It was amazing to see my professor, whom I had only known in the context of the classroom, in a very traditional setting and be able to see another side of Ghanaian culture.
 
By creating connections and relationships with the people from Ghana, I was able to see what Ghanaian culture was really about. These traditional ceremonies had the power to transform my view of Ghana and Ghanaians and I was able to experience the love, happiness, and unity that are not often portrayed in relation to Africa.
 
The point of study abroad is to immerse yourself in a different culture and learn from the people in that culture both inside and outside the classroom. While it may be tempting to stay within your comfort zone with other Americans, I hope study abroad students take this unqiue opportunity to put themselves out there and meet new people from your their country. You will have some amazing expereinces if you’re willing and able to engage in the local culture, and those are the memories you’ll remember the most from your study abroad expereince.