This weekend has been one of great adventure, worship, and traditional Ghanaian fun! I felt so proud that I was able to find everywhere on my own…I guess you could say I experienced an “I am Ghana” weekend. I went to Alterbury Seventh-Day Adventist Church and had a wonderful time. For the most part the structure of the service was the same as my church at home, but there were slight cultural differences. Nonetheless, it was an awesome experience.
As well, I went to a Baptist church with some of my Ghanaian friends. I got to immerse myself into the familiar aspect of Ghanaian culture by hanging out and essentially becoming a part of two Ghanaian families. I met family members, played with babies, lived the typical Ghanaian daily routine and felt completely at home the entire time.
I also had a day on Cape Coast with my friend Jackson. We essentially toured the entire town of Cape Coast, seeing many landmarks and eventually finishing off the day with a beautiful beach sunset. One of the places we went to was Jackson’s former school Mfantsipim (where Kofi Annan attended). Now that was crazy. The school is an all male boarding school, so it was a little intimidating being surrounding by thousands of guys and to make things even more interesting they were shouting things at/about me as I would walk by. No one would tell me what the words they were saying meant, so I figured they were inappropriate but it was still fun!
One of the most excited moments of my weekend was experiencing football Ghanaian style. I watched the Argentina vs. Nigeria and the Ghana vs. Serbia matches with some of my Ghanaian friends. I had an amazing time, especially when Ghana won their first game and everyone took to the street running, dancing, and waving their flags with joy. The entire town was ablaze with red, gold, green, and black! For the first time, I truly felt like a fellow Ghanaian (which is a wonderful feeling)!
In terms of hanging out with the crew, a couple of us went to Hacienda on a “party bus” after meeting up with some other Americans that we met. The night was full of fun, crowds, and interesting stories to share afterwards. This weekend was all a person could ask for!
Peace, Love, and Happiness,
Olivia Brown
