Jenny In Wonderland

    

Jenny in Wonderland 8/14/2016

     Guidebooks...who needs 'em? My friends and family were shocked to learn that I hadn't read a single book on Ghana before my travels. I'm glad I didn't. I dove in with few expectations and I couldn't be happier with my decision. Nothing could have prepared me for this journey. Like the story of Alice in Wonderland, nothing is as it seems. Nothing works as you would expect it to. It is what it is and you have no choice but to live in the moment and go with the flow. Stress is not a thing. Thirty minutes late is considered early. Women pee in urinals. Toilet paper is a luxury. There is no such thing as warm showers. I have forgotten what air conditioning feels like. You flip the switch down to turn on a light. All doors open in. Surprisingly, I have never seen a bug in my dorm room. The sun almost never shines in the wet season. The children rarely beg for money or food, they beg for pens because school starts next month and they cannot attend school unless they have pen and paper. Good luck finding a meal that doesn't include rice and plantain. Good luck finding an overweight Ghanaian. Professors don't attend class for the first two weeks. You're not registered for classes, no problem. You have to haul water pouches from the market to your dorm if you want to drink. Sidewalks are called obruni traps, an obruni is the Ghanaian word for foreigners. It isn't uncommon for the locals to shout obruni at you when you pass by, especially while jogging. Only obrunis go for jogs.Internet is something you are lucky to have for about 5 minutes a day. My friend lost his wallet and someone returned it to him with all of it's contents. The children are the most beautiful things I've ever seen. The music is entrancing. The dancing is amazing to watch. I get goosebumps when I eat pineapple and avocados. Describing Ghana to someone is like describing art to a blind person, music to a deaf person or love to someone that has never experienced it.