First Week in Ghana: Humidity and Humblings

My time in Accra, Ghana is only beginning. I’ve been here for a little over a week, and have spent that time exploring Accra, along with visiting Cape Coast. Coming from the University of Oregon in the United States, with a cohort of students who will be interning at different companies, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the things I’ve noted since arriving in Ghana. I spent time learning about this country before traveling over, but being here in person, a completely different continent, timezone, and people, I’ve felt somewhat humbled by my experiences thus far.

Every day since I’ve arrived has been packed, I’ve visited the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park & Mausoleum, traversed the Aburi Botanical Gardens, taken a trip to the castles on Cape Coast, and have already been delighted at the fact that the mango here doesn’t activate my slight allergic reaction that I seem to have to the fruit in the US. There are, however, specific experiences that have already stamped their mark in my memory.

I am not one to shy away from the heat. I’ve grown up in California, and attending the University of Oregon, where the weather is much colder and rainier year around, I’ve taken every possible chance to soak up the heat when the sun is out. Here in Ghana, however, I’ve been quite humbled by the weather. Stepping outside for five seconds is all it takes for sweat to start forming on my brow. While I’m in a skirt and tank top, redness rising to the surface of my face, I watch as local Ghanaians walk in long pants with a long sleeve shirt, seemingly unaffected by the pairing of humidity and heat. It is definitely something I am still getting used to.

In my first week, my cohort and I were able to visit the Anani Memorial International School in Nima. As we sweated from only sitting, some of the children performed dances for at least thirty minutes straight, a skill I’m still admiring considering the heat that was enveloping us that day.

We had the chance to learn the history of the school, along with what the children were learning. I am someone who is very proud of their heritage, my father being from Norway, and my mother being Filippino, it’s become a point of pride for me, especially since I speak Norwegian fluently from my father.

The ability to be bilingual, however, was definitely a skill I realized is nothing special when we entered the school. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the children spoke and were learning English and French, on top of knowing their own local languages. There is something about hearing children, seemingly between the ages of 4-12, trounce every ounce of ego I had about my ability to speak another language, by all of them clearly learning their third or even fourth language at this school. And most of them were half or even a third of my age.

As my first week slowly started to come to a close before the weekend, my cohort group and I made a trip to Cape Coast.

We travelled with the purpose of visiting two slave castles, the Elmina and Cape Coast Castle. We travelled early Thursday morning July 3rd, and visited Elima Castle, where our tour guide gave my cohort in depth detail on its tragic history. The next day, we visited the Cape Coast Castle, where we continued to learn about the details of the atrocities that transpired. Tears were spilled, including mine. In California, I received a very standard history lesson on the slave trade, however, my education was very centered on slavery in the US.

I learned a bit more about it through my father, who spent half of his childhood in Tanzania, and has visited the trading place for slaves in Zanzibar. Learning about the slave trade, and actually seeing it in person, does not compare. Hearing horrendous details that took place, and standing in the exact spot where it occurred, made my stomach turn. Both of the castles we visited felt completely haunted, and even under the heat of the sun, I stopped myself from leaning against the walls of the castle due to its marred history.

That visit was an important one to make, and that it was valuable to soak in the information I was hearing, especially as someone who is not ethnically tied to its history, I knew it was important for me to be further educated on the castles.

My time in Ghana has only begun. By the time I leave to head back to the states, I hope for two things. Firstly, that I have gotten used to the heat and humidity, and secondly, that I have truly embraced all that this country has to offer. From news to football games, different foods and new friends, I aspire to leave with a sense that I’ve explored the true richness of Ghana.

By Anna Liv Myklebust

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