I am not a very patient person. I like to do things quickly and do not like waiting. This seems to be the appropriate attitude for someone living in Shanghai or New York, so I’ve been asking myself: Why in the world am I in Accra? Life here seems to dawdle. Everything moves at a snail’s pace. The Internet is slow, traffic is slow, people walk slowly, and a certain phenomenon called “African time” really seems to exist. For an impatient person, these are telltale signs signaling that this is the wrong place for me to call home. I am not going to lie, sometimes things are painfully sluggish and I just want to yell out “哎呀!” However, there can be a silver-lining in any situation if you look hard enough, and right now, Accra is starting to look a bit better to me.Living in any new place always requires a period of adjustment, but Accra has been quite the doozy of a new experience. The slow pace of life here has really forced me into a strategy of taking things one at a time. As I continued to get the hang of things and life started to slow down for me, I’ve come to grasp this lifestyle and even embrace it. It’s allowed me to really take a look at what is going on around me and appreciate more of life here in Accra. Here are some observations that I have made:

People here are dope. I don’t think I can explain it any better than that. Just dope. When walking around in most places, it’s easy to walk by other people and just go about your business, but here it’s almost customary to acknowledge and greet one another. Greetings in Ghanaian culture are so important and that’s something you find out as soon as you step into the country. Handshakes are not just common here, but rather are an exceptionally important staple in society. The most widely used involves clasping the hands together followed up with a snap from both sides when the hands part. This whole process is greeted with a welcoming smile and a friendly hello, making it pretty hard not to warmly return the gesture. People are so friendly and often approach others (especially foreigners) just to say hi and see what’s going on. Before coming here, I would most likely walk by a stranger and not feel the need to greet them or would be skeptical of a stranger approaching me, but after experiencing it enough times, I feel my guard letting down and even looking forward to proactively greeting others on the streets. People like to talk and it’s fun having a conversation with someone you don’t know. It doesn’t feel superficial and truly helps broaden my attitude towards meeting people.

People are very integrated into the culture. They really do buy into the lifestyles that they lead, whether it involves going to church (religion is huge here), following traditional norms, partaking in dancing or drumming, or other activities. I’m not saying that everyone is a mindless robot that follows along with what is expected. Rather, it seems people are heavily invested in their culture. It’s really cool to see traditions and cultural values being passed on to younger generations.

Other examples of cultural tidbits include things like: the left hand is not used in general processes, such as accepting gifts, shaking hands, paying, etc. It’s considered disrespectful because the left hand is considered the hand used for… cleaning. There are a lot of other things to be wary of doing here because of potential offenses to people, but I’m still trying to figure it out.

Hot dog! People can dance here. I always thought I had decent rhythm and I could handle my own to any beat… but now I have to re-evaluate. Ghanaian people truly have rhythm. I am incapable of keeping up with their dancing! Not just their choreography, but the drumming and music styles are so different (in a good way) and fast! It’s humbling for sure. I have to practice more.

You can basically buy whatever you need without ever getting out of your car. Everywhere you go, you’ll see street hawkers -- people that weave around cars on the road, selling their products. From things like gum and water to toilet paper and bouncy balls. You can find a great deal of assorted goods just by looking out the window at a stoplight.

Taxis don’t have meters here. You deal with the driver before hand and agree on a set price on where to go. It’s kinda fun actually, but apparently I get ripped off a bunch. Not hot dog.

I’ve come to understand that people all over the world act pretty similarly when they’re out there on their daily grind. Regardless of location, be it a street in Accra or a fake market in Shanghai, you’ll understand that people will do what they gotta do to make their money. Gotta respect that hustle.

There are a lot of Chinese people here. I don’t understand at all. I always ask other locals but they don’t really know why either. I feel bad for generalizing, but every time I see an Asian in Accra I automatically assume they are Chinese. I’m not gonna lie. I have straight up walked up to someone before and started speaking Mandarin. I wasn’t wrong.

Dude, I went to a Chinese restaurant the other day! 8 xiaolongbao for the equivalent of 60 kuai. What?!

I’m not very good at expressing myself using words, nor do I quite understand myself. I wish there could be a better way to express how much I am enjoying Accra right now, but honestly, you’d have to come here on your own to really understand. I don’t even fully grasp everything yet. I don’t know what it is, but I have a good feeling about Accra. It’s gonna be dope. I hope y’all could pick something out of that jumbled mess. Peace!

This article was written by Kevin Pham. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Kevin Pham