My trip to Ghana was definitely a complicated one. My flight was scheduled from Boston to Washington DC, to Brussels, to Accra, Ghana. Accra is the capital city, and from there, I was to take a 30 minute flight to Kumasi, where I would be staying and conducting my research. In Brussels, my plane was canceled, and I stayed overnight in a hotel. This meant that my trip was cut short by one day, and my plans were also shifted back as well. During my time in Brussels, I realized first hand the power of a USA passport. As we all waited in line to find out information about our canceled flight, the airline workers were rude and dismissive to the passengers on the flight. The flight was to go to Accra, and then land in Lome, Togo. When I stepped up to complain about the long line, and lack of organization, they asked what passport I had. When they learned that my friend and I had USA passports, we were pulled from the long line, and directed upstairs to be seen, where the line was full of white and Asian travelers.
After I finally arrived in Accra, my uncle met me at the airport, and we both boarded the flight to Kumasi. When we got home, I was simply exhausted. My cousins all came over to my house for the duration of my visit, so I was met by 7 energetic kids. So after a long trip, I stayed up pretty late that night. My uncle went with me on all of my site visits- he was my driver, which made transportation so much easier, and he would also bridge the gaps. By gaps, I’m referring to the fact that I was born in Ghana, but so many years have passed since I left that people can spot that I’m from the USA from a mile away. So while I can speak twi, my accent is American, and there’s certain pleasantries to exchange that may make a person more willing to accomodate you. I live in the USA, and not as versed when it comes to such matters.
My first stop during my time in Kumasi was the Ministry of Health. Several weeks ahead of time, I asked my older cousin if he had contacts at the Ministry. My parents had advised me that in Ghana, things go a lot smoother if you have a connection to someone, or you’d move in circles before getting a response. My cousin, Albert visited the ministry and asked them what documents or letters I would need to supply in order to visit them when I arrived. He was instructed that for an informal work like i was conducting, I could just walk in. When I arrived at the Ministry, I spoke to Mr. Nuamah. He told me that I would need to provide a letter from my institution detailing my research question and methods before anyone would speak to me. This would then need to be processed, which could take several weeks. Clearly, this would not be feasible, considering the little time I had. This was also very frustrating since I had taken measures in anticipation of such a scenario, and was told that I didn’t need to do anything.
I ran into a similar issue the following week when I visited a small pharmacy. I chose this one because my uncle was familiar with the owner. However, I think when he saw me, heard me speak, and learned that I was from an American University, his attitude changed. At first he said he was unwilling to talk to me, and I had to explain to him the informality of my visit, and that I just wanted to hear about his experience running his pharmacy. He then begrudgingly told me to come back at a different time, when he’d be ready. I got the sense that he was being very difficult because I was a foreigner.
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