Vocabulary lesson #1: Obruni

As a former British colony, the official language in Ghana is English, but most people also know their own "mother tongue" dialects. For most people in Accra, this is Twi, one of the dialects of the local Akan languages, pronounced "chwee" or "tree", not "twee"! I don't know very much yet (beyond "thank you"), but hopefully I can pick up some phrases soon. The language is delightfully phonetic, unlike some others I've encountered as a tourist (damn you, Gaelic!).

The most important Twi word that you'll learn as an outsider to Ghana is obruni, which means "foreigner". It's kinda hard not to stick out when you're pale here, which I certainly am in these parts! :) I have to say that I have honestly not had a hard time at it, aided by the fact that Accra is a big city and people aren't totally unaccustomed to seeing obrunis on the street. That said, there are certainly obruni prices (someone tried to charge me 70 Euro for a hankerchief the other day - er, that's about US$90 for a hankerchief. Even I'm not that stupid!!), as well as the occasional stare and taunt of "Obruni!" Taxis honk when they drive past me trying to pick up a fare, which gets to be pretty noisy given that about 50-75% of Accra traffic are taxis. Most people have been nonchalant around me, and the taunts have been minimal. Also, I've been rather toughened up from my childhood of having "ching-chong" noises and racial epithets yelled at me by Toms River youth, so it rolls off my back. :) I think the whole obruni business is much tougher if you're Caucasian.

In general, Ghanaian people have been chill. Yinka has told me that the so-called famous Ghanaian hospitality is, to say the least, somewhat lacking in the city. I would have to agree, but I've still met some really nice people. One person personally walked me to my destination (WAAAAY out of the way) after I got lost and asked for directions. Others welcome me or say hello in the street. The kids are particularly cute. Some of them get really excited and come up and wave at you. Actually, let me rephrase and say that this is cute when normal everyday kids do this. I had some street kid saunter up to me and say, "Give me money!" and then proceed to hug me (i.e., attach himself around my waist) until I relented. I kept pushing him off, which I felt sort of bad about because I really like kids! Anyway, I felt a little bit like Brian the Dog from "Family Guy" when he's reprimanding Peter (::hits with rolled up newspaper:: "No. No. NO!"). After two hug attacks from the kid, a sympathetic lady walked by and yelled at the kid ("Hey! Leave her alone!") and he ran away.

Now that's Ghanaian hospitality for you!

Sidenote of the Day
Andrea (my friend who was in Ghana for a year) told me that she was initially quite confused when she would walk into a Ghanaian shop or home and people would say, "You're welcome!" She'd be like, "Uh, was I suppose to say 'Thank you' for something? Are you being sarcastic?" Apparently, "You're welcome" as a greeting means "You're welcome here." Admittedly, this is weird, particularly because when you do say "Thank you" for something, Ghanaians will reply "You're welcome!" It's a good thing Andrea warned me about this, or I would be terribly confused...or just think that Ghanaians were a bunch of sarcastic jerks.