I had a wonderful lunch today with my friend Edith who is from Ghana. When Edith goes to Ghana, she takes her watch off, because hardly anything is going to be on a schedule. Then she puts it back on when it's time to leave, because "things move slowly in Ghana."
Edith has a good friend from childhood who has a restaurant in Accra called "Favourite Fast Food". Fast food in Ghana is not McDonalds. It might consist of Jollof (a rice dish) or kelewele (fried plantain chips). The kelewele is made from green plantains. I can't wait to try these, and I will buy them in a restaurant and not from a street vendor.
Edith also told me about the Art Center in Accra where her friend Kojo makes and sells jewelry. I know that I'm expected to haggle over the price and then at the end to say "Medaase" (thank you).
I'm also looking forward to seeing a former student assistant in Ghana--Fifi Quanseh. Fifi will make a super tour guide. I can't wait.
It's true, there is definitely "Ghana Time" or as one voyager put it, referring to our docking time WAWA, (which means West Africa Wins Again).
ReplyDeleteIf you can relax into it, like your friend does, it can be a wonderful experience. I think my family of origin must have some connect to west Africa, because Ghana's approach to time was very familiar to me.