Things I'm Not Sure I Will Ever Get Used to in Ghana

1. Sleeping Under a Mosquito Net. Sometimes I bring everything I may need for the night into bed with me just so I won’t have to climb back out. Often I lay in bed wondering if I have to pee badly enough to get out from under the mosquito net. It’s simple enough and yet I find myself tucking and untucking the sides as if it’s some laborious task.

2. Always Sweating. You might think that after being here for more than a month I would be used to the heat, that sweating would no longer be problematic. I have just started a process of tricking my body into thinking it is cooler than it is. This involves wearing long sleeves and pants to bed (which began on our trip to the Volta Region – Melissa and Nikki thought I was crazy). I also now wear pants during the day, which I must say, isn’t that bad, it’s part of the trick, the mental aspect.

3. The Power Going Out. Somehow I always seem to forget that this is a possibility. Until Grandma reminds me and says, “I am praying the power will be here when your mom visits.” When she says that, it scares me a little bit, and I wonder if she is suggesting that we will be without power for two months. There’s no telling when or for how long the power will be out.

4. Planes Flying Overhead. I live near the airport. I would even call us neighbors considering how close the planes sound in relation to my house. Sometimes I think they might be landing right on top of me. You might think that I would get used to the sound, that it would become background noise, but sometimes I am forced to cover my ears. Other times I wake up at 4:54 in the morning wondering who is flying into Ghana that early.

5. Being Called Obruni. Maybe I don’t turn my head every time now but I am still being pointed out, all of the time. A day doesn’t go by in which I don’t hear the word obruni being called out to me. It’s as if that’s my name. And my friend. And my other friend. And, oh wait, obruni isn’t my name, but it’s treated as if it is.

6. A Man Telling Me He “Likes the Way I Am” and has literally never heard me speak. Apparently the way a woman walks says a lot about her character, just kidding of course. Not all Ghanaian men approach me or say anything to me, in fact, the large majority doesn’t, but there are exceptions. It might be in the trotro coming back from the Volta Region in which I realize I am stuck next to a man for the next three hours who has just asked me for my contact number. It might be on the beach in Cape Coast when a young man approaches us asking us how he can get in contact with us. It might be on the street walking with a friend when two men pull their car over and then proceed to ask how they will contact us for our date tonight – wait, what date? Or it might be the carpenter who has done work at my house, and has told me that he “will come to my heart” (aka be my boyfriend). It’s not every day this happens but the frequency with which it does occur is not something we experience in the U.S.

7. Pepper. Yes, I am a wimp. I’ve tried to slowly build up a tolerance for pepper but when Grandma put my dinner on the table the other night Felix could tell I was struggling with the pepper. My nose gave me away. Then the next day I wanted to cook some plain rice for myself, Felix was beside himself. He was visibly upset that I didn’t want anything on my rice. His reaction wasn’t unusual to me, it’s occurred several times before in other circumstances. I tried to help him understand but I’m not sure he really did.

8. Always Getting Charged More For Something Than It Should Be but never knowing. Most of the Ghanaians that I’ve met think, “America is rich” therefore all Americans must be rich. As such, we end up usually being charged more than Ghanaians would pay. It’s always hard to tell. Should we pay 8 cedi to take the taxi or can we bargain it down to 3 cedi?

9. Hand Washing Clothes. I’ve started wearing certain clothes and neglecting others because of their “washability.” Although I don’t find hand-washing clothes at all bothersome or unusual, I struggle to get all of my clothes clean and often settle with just soaking them and scrubbing them a few times. (I only do this when Grandma is not around). I think the important thing is that they don’t smell, right?

10. Hearing My Voice in a Class of 250 Students. Just this morning I found myself answering a question that the professor asked in my sociology class. Wait, did I really just speak up? I’ve often found myself in classes where I have things to say but keep them in my head, just thinking about them. This wasn’t the first time since being here that I’ve spoken up in class and suddenly I’m not wondering what the other students are thinking of me or about the answer I am giving. This is a new thing – will I get used to it?

Will I get used to any of these things? Time will tell.