Notes from Abroad
Realizing Reality
Sunday, November 22, 2009
By Samantha Lemmer
GVL Study Abroad Columnist
I was a victim of the westernized portrayal of Africa. Even referring to such a vast land as one entity, “Africa” makes me cringe.
How is it possible to lump so many different cultures and societies into one? Easy, I suppose. Through splashing our televisions with images of young children with big eyes and frowns on their faces, filling our ears with the pleas of Bono to join the latest celebrity campaign for “Africa," and in general further fueling the false view that the entire continent is a charity case, we are able to believe what we are told, instead of seeing for ourselves.
While it is true there are many areas on the continent experiencing mass hunger, inadequate health and education and high rates of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, there are also many areas thriving and propelling themselves into first world status. One of these areas experiencing success is Ghana.
Ghana, as the first country to obtain independence from colonial rule, has served as a model for other African countries. The promise of such a young state can be seen in visiting its capital, Accra, which my roommates and I had an opportunity to do.
Accra is bustling. Staying in an area called Osu, I could have easily thought I was in Atlanta or Chicago. There were many hip bars and restaurants, large shopping malls and no shortage of traffic- a must-have for any major city.
Having come from Cape Coast just hours before, a small town making up in beauty what it lacks in attractions and nightlife, my roommates and I were a bit culture shocked when we arrived in Accra.
Mamma Mia, the Italian restaurant in Osu and first stop on our list, might as well have been Italy itself!
The menu was extensive and atmosphere was spot-on for an Italian restaurant. These people really knew their stuff!
Venus, the bar and nightclub down the road from our hostel served as a mixing bowl for all different sorts of people. European residents, Ghanaian businessmen and women, grubby backpackers such as ourselves, and any other type of person all intermingled and discussed issues of the world as if we were old friends.
The supermarket, which I stood in the entrance of holding back the temptation to A) faint or B) dance down the aisles, had all sorts of American and European food. As I was marveling at the selection of Lay’s potato chips and cheese at the deli, my mouth hanging slightly open in awe, local shoppers whisked by me, going about their everyday routines.
For them, this was life. Life as a citizen of Accra, is as different as possible from the westernized view of “life as an African.”
Going to Accra taught me a lot. It taught me that so often in life we are misled into believing a biased view on a foreign subject. The trip made me wonder how long I would have gone on simply believing and not finding out for myself.On the tro-tro ride home, I counted my lucky stars that I had this opportunity to come to an area that is often discussed, but rarely discussed accurately. I wish more people had that chance, and I wish that those who do have it, will take it!
My study abroad experience has had an incredibly large effect on everything I previously thought, believed and blindly followed in the past. I am realizing the world is vastly different from what I was shown and told at home. Due to this time spent in Ghana, I am finally realizing reality.
Posted 6:57 PM
