July 16, 2008

Miami University men's basketball rising sophomore forward Nick Winbush is spending two weeks in Ghana. Nick will be providing periodic updates of his stay in Africa.

Hamilton Journal-News Article on Nick's Trip

July 14, 2008

Where do I start? One morning I am in America, the next morning I am on the purest, most historical continent in the world, Africa. My flight arrived in Ghana at about noon Ghanaian time, which is 8 a.m. in Ohio. When I arrived my uncle was there to meet me. He was accompanied by Daniel, a Ghanaian local who will be driving us around the country for the next couple of weeks. We were immediately greeted by local Ghanaians persuading me and my uncle to vote for Barack Obama. We got in the car and proceeded to drive back to the guest house where we are staying at for the duration of the trip.

I was able to visit this country for the first time during the summer of 2001, and the first thing that struck me on my current visit was the amount of construction that is taking place in Ghana. It seems as though every block has some kind of structure being built on it. As we drove through the city, my Uncle Ray began telling me numerous things about the expanding country.

First, he told me that the cedi--which is the Ghanaian currency--is worth pretty much just as much as the American dollar. When I visited Ghana in 2001, the dollar was crushing the cedi in value. This surprised me at first, but then when I thought about it, it made sense. In the news in America, we always hear about the value of the dollar dropping, but I am truly grasping that reality now that I am in Ghana. I think most of America has no idea all these other countries have caught up to us economically, and in many cases passed us.

My uncle was also telling me that he had just spent the last two weeks of his life feeling impoverished. Before coming to Ghana, he was in London for two weeks where the dollar is worth half as much as the British pound. He told me that gas was $8 a gallon over there and the new $200 iPhone costs 200 pounds in London, which is the equivalent of 400 American dollars.

My uncle was also telling me that people in Ghana have a great interest in buying upscale foreign cars such as Lexuses, Mercedes, and BMWs. He told me that if a Ghanaian citizen was buying one of these vehicles they are willing to pay $200,000-$300,000 for these vehicles, which roughly sell for $60,000-$90,000 in the United States. I could not believe this until Daniel, our escort, seconded this outrageous statement.

The streets of Ghana are filled with people selling anything you could think of. The street vendors rush people's cars selling anything from hand crafted carvings to peanuts. One thing I love about this country is that pretty much anything being sold can be bargained down to a price that is reasonable to the buyer and the seller. Depending on how good your bargaining skills are determines how much you will pay for their desired purchase.

When we arrived at our guest house, we rested for a few hours and then went to the art festival. The art centre is a place in Accra--the capital of Ghana--where people sell paintings, sculptures, jewelry, clothing, drums, etc. This is a very busy place, and as soon as you step onto the site you are bombarded by people trying to convince you come to their booth and make a purchase.

At times it is very overwhelming because people will grab you, shout at you, and basically do anything they can just to get you to come look at what they have to sell. Once again bargaining skills are very important at the art centre because the better you bargain the more you can buy. I bought many things such as paintings, necklaces for my mother, sister, and girlfriend, shirts, and sculptures.

Following the visit to the art centre, we visited Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's Memorial. Dr. Nkrumah was the first president of Ghana, and he believed that the success of Ghana meant nothing unless all of Africa was united. He suggested that all of the countries in Africa should unite and become as one. He felt that this would unite all of Africa and make Africa great.

Following the visit to the art Nkrumah's site we went to a restaurant and ate. The restaurant was located in a mall that resembled a typical American mall. The mall had a Nike store, a McDonald's, and, unlike the street vendors, fixed prices. I was very surprised to see such a mall, but many countries are beginning to develop these American-style malls due to the fixed income that come along with them. If a country has set prices in a mall then the income for that mall can be predicted; if a country only sells products through bargaining and barter then there is no telling how much money will be made. We ate at a restaurant that also resembled an American restaurant, and the food was great.

At the dinner table, my uncle's girlfriend, Joy, asked Daniel many questions about Ghanaian culture. Questions dealing with illegal drugs, husbands and wives, Ghanaian views on Black Americans, illegitimate births, and a bizarre method of drug prevention.

First off Daniel told us that there is really not much drug use in Ghana. No crack cocaine, no heroin, and not much marijuana. Also, with as much as said about obesity in American, I don't think I saw one overweight male or female on my first day in Ghana.

Daniel also told us that women in Ghana are very well respected. They are treated very well, and they too are also expected to respect themselves. A loud, disrespectful woman is frowned upon. A woman who gets on top of the bar at a night club is not seen as respecting herself and men are not attracted to this. A woman who gives birth out of wedlock is also frowned upon, and this is not something that occurs that often in Ghana. He told us when a man and a woman are married the man is proud to have that women as his wife, and the woman is proud to have that man as her husband. He told us that men seek natural beauty in their women. A woman who puts extensions in her hair, dyes her skin lighter, and wears a lot of makeup is not seen as purely beautiful. Men are attracted to women, who when they become older will still hold the same beauty they had when they were young. Daniel also told us that Ghanaians initially see Black Americans as traitors. However, this opinion can change once they interact with the Black American. He said they are seen as people who do everything the American white man tells them to do, and when he said this I can understand how Black American s could be perceived as this way to them.

Finally, he told us that children's parents try to prevent their kids from smoking marijuana and cigarettes. He told us that it is very common for a father to light a cigarette and give it to his son, and as soon as the son puts the cigarette in his mouth his father slaps him in the face as hard as he can. Daniel told us that these boys remember that slap for the rest of their lives and it prevents them from ever picking up another cigarette or anything else that can be smoked.

Whew! It's getting late ... it's already 1:30 a.m. over here, and I am hoping to have another day just like this one tomorrow so I have to go to bed. I'll fill you in on more tomorrow.

 

July 15, 2008

Happy Birthday Dad! Today would be my father's 59th birthday, and I am so glad I am in Africa to wish him a happy birthday!

Today, I woke up and immediately my uncle, Joy, and I left from the hotel and caught a cab to go to the University of Ghana's bookstore. There, my uncle and Joy bought a few books, and we were able to have a look at the campus. It was a very nice campus; much different than those in the states. I have pictures of it that will be posted later.

From the campus, we left and caught another cab to the W.E.B. Du Bois Center. When you catch cabs in Ghana, you tell the driver where you want to go, and then you negotiate the price. There is no machine in the car that calculates the miles traveled and determines how much you will pay at your arrival. The general price for a 15-20 minute ride is between 5-10 cedis. I feel that this is pretty reasonable. We arrived at the W.E.B. Du Bois Memorial Center, which is actually the house that he lived in prior to his death. The exhibit is not in very good condition, and this upsets my uncle every time he visits because due to the status of this man, he feels that his legacy is not being properly carried on with his museum. He has constantly donated money to the museum, and does not see any improvement.

Next, we visited the African Forum Mission. This building is located right next to the W.E.B. Du Bois Center. In short, the Forum Mission is an attempt to have African-Americans represented properly in African nations. This is very important because even though we live in America, and native Africans live in Africa, we still at one point all originated from the same place. I also have pictures of the African Forum Mission, so again don't worry ... those will be posted later.

Next, we went to a restaurant that was located right next to the Forum Mission building. At this restaurant we were approached by three boys who asked us to buy some Kinti bracelets, and they would weave our names and anybody else's names into the bracelet. They said that this would take five minutes. They also said they would do it in front of us so we could take pictures. The way they do this is amazing. I have video footage and pictures of one of the boys doing this. They charge about one cedi per bracelet, and they are worth every cent. I asked the kids why they weren't in school, and they said school fees are too high, and they make and sell these bracelets to save up to attend the university. I look at these kids and realize if someone had this kind of talent in America they would be rich, but here in Africa they are struggling to eat and cloth themselves.

Well, I'm going to keep this kind of short tonight because tomorrow we are getting up bright and early to go visit the slave dungeons located in Cape Coast, a city in Ghana right next to the ocean where slaves were held prior to their departure from Africa to America.

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