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So I entered the land… Kumasi! A mere four hours away from home…. I’d heard so much about it, yet I had no idea what to think about it I was excited! I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew that life here would be totally different! The people seemed normal so far… Until I tried to take a taxi! “Boss, please I’m going to the Kejetia market. How much will you charge?”
“Mo de3, mosore aa, na 3y3 mo s3 obiara te brofo! Nkwasiasem!” [You think everyone can speak English here? Nonsense!] I was astonished! Imagine an extremely good looking young man, (myself of course) with a stupefied look on his face! Much as I understood what he was saying, Twi wasn’t really a strong point for me, and I didn’t want to end up saying something funny. When eventually we had gotten over our supposed language barrier, I got in and we set off.
Things weren’t that remarkable. There were sellers all around, much like there were in Accra, the capital. It was even a lot cleaner than Accra was. I got to Kejetia, paid the driver, and started walking around. From my earlier experience, I knew not to go around speaking English! “Madam, paaky3w, akok) nam no 3y3 s3n?” [Madam, how much is the chicken?] “Aah, paakyew tiles no de3, one pound y3 10 Ghana. But n’akyi no y3 5 Ghana.” [The thighs go for Ghc10 per pound, and the other parts go for Ghc5 per pound] Tiles??????? Hahaha….. This was going to be an interesting stay. I ventured buying a few utensils from an old lady, and I was met with a fifteen minute lecture on how the non-stick frying pan was essential to my stay, and how the burner she sold was going to last me so long that I could take it to my marriage home! Her customer service, together with her persuasive tongue got me buying a lot more than I knew I’d ever use…. But like she said, “Wode b3k) aware3”
I got hungry on my way to get a cab back, and I decided to buy food from a fast food joint not far from where I stood. “Fly rice no y3te no 4ghana, 5 ne 6. Jollof ne nso y3te no saa.” Fly rice! I could not believe it…. In high school, we laughed at the Kumasi kids once in a while, when they made such blunders But this…. This was hilarious! Four years here was going to be dope! – @elisetirza |
