Morris in Ghana

My story

Obroni! Obroni!! From the first to the last hour of my almost 5 months in Ghana, this was shouted at me. The meaning? White person. At first you think, huh, that’s strange. You don’t just say that about someone, about the colour of their skin, do you? But you soon learn to embrace it, and at some point you start to see the funny side. Yes, you are obroni, and you should almost wear it with pride. That goes for everything in Ghana: learn to embrace it! You can hardly get further from home: the food, the music, the people, nothing, absolutely nothing is the same as in Holland, and that’s exactly what makes it so incredibly cool. When you get talking to people you very quickly find out how differently they see things. For example, the superstition among many taxi drivers and motorbike riders that you always have to honk a few times before driving over a bridge to chase away the “evil spirits”.

When I first landed in Ghana everything seemed so crazy and new, and I honestly thought, how will I ever get used to this? In the first few weeks you’re amazed by something every single day. Like when the cook, Kessiwa, had made something new again and you really think, wtf is this? From Banku to Okyere soup, all things I’d never seen before my time in Ghana. At first I thought it was just weird, but by my last day I was licking my fingers.

I was in Ghana for my minor, so I spent 20 weeks there in total. As a Sport Studies student, I mainly spent my time with the football academy. One question I asked everywhere was “Messi or Ronaldo?” It doesn’t matter what language you speak, everyone understands this question, and people respond to it passionately and argue about it. I loved it: the power of sport, it’s as simple as that. The Champions League nights when 50 of us lads were in the clubhouse watching Man City against Real, and you could hear the cheering from far outside the clubhouse when Man City won. We weren’t even happy that City won, just that Real lost, since we’re all Barcelona fans. How every day I’d be in the gym, and by putting on the local music heroes Shatte Wale or Black Sheriff, a few of my friends would always come over to dance together. If you think you can dance, forget that thought, because in Ghana it’s a whole different story. “Obroni don’t dance”.

All these amazing memories have contributed to the love I’ve developed for Ghana, and if you’re reading this and thinking about it, just do it, because Ghana will treat you well!

What advice would you like to give future interns and volunteers?

Embrace it!!