Coming to Ghana has been on my mind for a long time. Interesting culture and beautiful traditions, scenic nature, friendly people and tasty local cuisine were some of the things that would pop up on Google every time I was researching the country. When an Estonian NGO called Mondo provided me with an opportunity to come to Ghana as a climate change advisor volunteer for Kongo Community Development Association (KOCDA) under the European Solidarity Corps program, I was so incredibly excited and began reading about the country even more. I wanted to be prepared for every possible situation so that I would know what to say and how to react and would not offend anyone or get overwhelmed after seeing something that may not be so common in my home country. Mondo had also arranged trainings about the country and it’s culture and advised of the things that should and should not be done in the country, so I felt absolutely prepared for this exciting adventure.
However even after preparing so much, I was still pleasantly surprised by the incredible hospitality, kindness and friendliness of the locals, who were always smiling, welcoming me and helping me since the moment I stepped off the plane; by the vibrant street markets full of tasty smells and delicious home-made food; cozy little villages with happy children running around, chanting “solimi” (white person) and colorful local clothing, which truly made the streets feel like a fashion show. I could not believe my eyes how beautiful the country and the people were.
What I was totally unprepared for was the temperatures reaching as high as 42 degrees, which honestly felt like 50 degrees to say the least. It was a little bit cooler in Accra, which is located in the south of the country, where the weather was pleasantly warm with around 30 degrees when I was there in the beginning of May. However the farther north I went, the hotter it was. Once I reached Kongo village, which is located in the north, 40 degrees and above became an every day thing. In order to respect the country’s culture and protect my skin from the sun, I was wearing long and skin-covering clothing, which always felt like I was inside a really well heated oven. I suddenly caught myself longing for pleasantly warm and rainy Lithuanian summers, where 25 degree weather is considered scorching hot.
Another thing that blew my mind was the traffic. I really do not understand how I survived the ride from the Kotoka International Airport in Accra to my hotel, but I did! The cars were cutting each other off, my taxi driver was talking on the phone with one hand and drinking water with another hand and the steering wheel was left unattended for the majority of the trip. Everyone was beeping at everybody and it was pure chaos, however I was too excited about being in Ghana to worry about the traffic. In fact I even started loving the traffic while in Kongo village, where motorbikes is the main mode of transport for local people. Riding them through crowded roads was such a fun experience!
A little bit less fun but still an interesting experience was declining marriage proposals from the local men, who kept on convincing me that I had to marry a Ghanaian man. Even the police officers were joining in on this, as one of them asked for my number during a police checkpoint stop. I later started finding this really amusing and it would make me laugh every time it happened.
And of course, it would be completely unacceptable of me to forget to mention the way locals worship God in catholic churches and the way they grieve for the passed ones in funerals. My first time in a catholic mass in Ghana was an amazing experience to say the least. People were praying while dancing and singing and the atmosphere inside the church was so cheerful and peaceful at the same time. The exact same atmosphere could be found in the first Ghanaian funeral I attended, where music and dancing were also present in addition to the traditional rituals the locals were performing. I could absolutely not believe how lucky I was to be able to experience the local culture, which was so fascinating I almost forgot to blink.
All in all, the first few weeks in Ghana were full of amazing and enriching experiences, that I will forever be grateful for. I could not wait to begin my work in climate change field and try to tackle the environmental challenges that Kongo village is facing.
