My First Impressions of Ghanaian Hospitality

On my first full day in Ghana, I was absolutely blown away as I encountered the friendliness and generosity for which the Ghanaian people are known.  Although I only got my phone this morning, my contact list already has four entries.  The first was a man I met while waiting for an interview at a media company.  He himself worked in advertising, but as we got to talking he mentioned that he had some friends at a couple of newspapers and that he would be happy to talk to them on my behalf as well as look for a tutor to help me learn Twi.  As he left, he asked the man next to him to see to it that I was properly directed to Accra's central market where I wanted to pick up some interview-appropriate clothes.  That man in turn gave me a crash course in the phonology of Ghanaian languages, helping me pronounce a number of common consonants that are absent from English.  He sent me off in the right direction and told me where to catch a trotro (a big van that basically functions as a bus) that would take me towards the market.  On the trotro, I asked a fellow passenger where I should get off to get to the market.  As it turned out, the last stop was quite close to my destination, but instead of simply directing me there, he insisted on taking me around to buy every single item that I needed and even asked me to leave the haggling up to him.  After about half an hour or so, he left me in an office of the cellular/ internet company MTN where I waited to buy an internet modem, but only after recommending some radio stations and papers that I might apply to and taking my number with the promise that he would send me more information when he got the chance. 

As I was waiting for a trotro to take me back to my hotel in Odokor, a taxi headed the same direction filled up with people so I decided to take advantage of the diminished fare and jump in.  One of the other passengers in the taxi, a self-employed electrician named Sampson, became concerned about the price and comfort of my accommodations (pictured above), which are both adequate.  He insisted on leaving the cab before it reached his destination so that he could take me to another restaurant/ motel owned by a friend of his, which was a bit more expensive but also considerably nicer.  The owner was out of town but for about 20 minutes we talked to one of the employees who, at my new friend's insistence, said he would do all he could to give me the same rate that I'm currently paying.  Although I've yet to hear back from the motel, Sampson seemed quite confident that I would get the desired rate as a result of his adamancy and friendship with the owner. 

Although I had heard that people in Ghana tend to be very friendly and welcoming, I couldn’t help but be surprised by the profound kindness shown to me by so many complete strangers.