Tips for Future Travelers

GO TO GHANA! Ghana is a beautiful country in infinite respects: the beaches of the West, the forests of the East, the savannah of the North, and the castles of the South. The people and their attitudes—never before have I met people so welcoming, appreciative, or comfortable around strangers. The villages, with their mud huts and dozens of children playing. The colors of the cloth on the mothers and babies. It is far and foreign but in life it is necessary to leave your comfort and learn to find it elsewhere.

Religion is EVERYWHERE. You will see it on signs, in shops, with your Fan-Ice. You will hear it on every radio station and in every conversation. Even if you are religious, prepare yourself for more of this than you can imagine.

You have never stood out this much. No matter what race you are, you are easily identifiable as an Obruni. This means that strangers will stop you to ask for a picture, children everywhere will pitifully pull on your pants asking for money, and it’s safe to assume that any price that someone tells you is about two times too much. This is an annoyance of life here, but it is easily manageable. All the same, prepare yourself.

You will never complain about public restrooms again. Did you know that there is such a thing as a female urinal?

You have never eaten this much rice before. Seriously. So much rice.

Pet your dog or cat—a lot. There are tons of animals here, but few are house pets and people don’t treat them as tiny humans like we do in America. I only got to play with one dog in the past 4 months—you’ll wish you gave Fido a little extra attention before you left. You will get to see baby goats running around the streets on a daily basis though—I never knew this before, but baby goats are probably the most adorable creatures in the world!

Bring chocolate. I didn’t—cocoa is the main export of Ghana, after all! But since the country sells almost all of this resource to outsiders, it is very expensive here.

Don’t be afraid. Not of the people, or the food, or the places, or the travelling, or the means to get there. A bucket bath is not that bad and African insects are more or less the same as the ones you’re used to. Don’t stress about getting malaria. Most of the time you won’t have running water but it’ll be okay. Go outside and stand in the warm and pouring rain. By overcoming my subtle fear of general life here, I began to appreciate and learn from the culture and people of Ghana. Only after realizing this did I truly start to travel.