Obruni, Obruni!! You are Welcomed

     It is so common for Americans to generalize their perceptions of Africa while the continent encompasses many nations, ethnicities, religions, cultures, and languages.  Ghana is one of 53 countries in Africa and I’ve learned (so far) that the culture here drastically differs from the bordering countries.  In sum, my experience has been overwhelmingly beautiful.  Living in Ghana has allowed me to experience relevant aspects of my history that I would (otherwise) have only read about.

     There is so much to do and see in Ghana!  I arrived in Legon, safely on August 8th, and on the 11th I and some of the other girls from the Missouri Africa Program went to Labadie (La Pleasure) Beach for a weekly reggae program.  This has been one of my favorite (local) hang out spots.  The energy on the beach is live.  The music is vibrant.  A local band and varying artists perform reggae tunes from Bob Marley, Tarrus Riley, Steel Pulse, Richie Spice, Dennis Brown, and the list goes on.

    Getting into the reggae program on the first night was chaotic and scary.  It was only our 3rd night in the country and we were still getting acclimated to the culture.  The gatekeepers and our driver were yelling at each other in Twi, a line of cars were behind ours honking their horn because we were keeping them from entering, and the girls and I just wanted everybody to speak ENGLISH so we could understand what was going on!  We forgot to bring money and it was 5 cedis to get into the program.  We laugh about it now, but we were ready to bail on the reggae program that night.
    We eventually made our way onto the beach.  In passing, some young guys yelled, “Obruni, obruni! You are welcomed. “
    Obruni means foreigner (or more specifically- white people in Twi).  It is not obvious to Ghanaians that I am foreigner until I mix and mingle with other people in my program.  Young Ghanaians, more commonly, have adopted western dress so we can’t black Americans can’t be recognized by clothes or skin; unless we’re dressed in traditional African attire.  It isn’t until I speak that I get all the attention as other foreigners.  Seriously, I am grateful for this because obruni women get marriage proposals from just about every guy they meet.  A man will introduce himself and ask for your hand in marriage- same sentence.   
(Back to the beach…)
When I first set eyes on the ocean, it literally took my breath away.  I’ve seen beaches in Florida, California, and Jamaica but none of them have the same energy as the African sea.  I felt a presence that is simply indescribable.  I thought of my ancestors- they must have been hanging out on the beach just as I was when they seen the Europeans come to shore.

    I had an in depth conversation with my Rasta friend about colonialism, the slave trade, and the propaganda.  In later posts, I will elaborate more on these topics, (so stay tuned).  African history, in my opinion, is being relegated in America.  This is a problem.  There is a very relevant adinkra symbol; sankofa, which means, "return and get it" or "learn from your past".  If black American youth knew their roots, they'd be different.  The sankofa symbol is one of the most important because it's about learning from the past in order to understand where you are going.   



Sankofa (return and get it)