I am not used to being stared at...

Introduction to markets

It is not everyday I travel in African markets, with the intensity of road-side hustlers doing their best to make ends meet, vending baked goods, clothing, and kitchenware all from metal tins balancing on towels atop their heads. The markets are hectic, humbling, and energetic. And it is also not every day that a white person traverses them. The word for a white person in Twi, Ghana’s most widely spoken language, is Abroni, and people called out this name wherever I went. It happened when I walked through markets, near schools, searching for a taxi. Every time, however, it caught me off guard. Children yelled it hoping to gain my attention, and sometimes a small group of kids would appear to dare each other to do it, to see if I’d look. And when I did, they would smile, laugh, run away, or even hide. Market people yelled it to cause some fun, some well-intentioned heckling, and also with the hopes of making a sale. Now in the U.S., if someone stares at you, yells at you even, you can give them a look, give them some short words, and they’ll cut it out. But in Ghana, courtesy is everything. People are so hospitable, chatty, and sociable. The last thing I could do was glare. Even ignoring it was considered giving the cold shoulder. All I could do was smile and when appropriate, wave. Though well-meaning, I could not walk in peace. The name demanded my attention in a way that was overwhelming. I felt more visible to the public’s eye than I had ever felt in my life, and though these feelings never faded during my time in Ghana, looking back I can think of this practice fondly. It was only ever said with genuine interest and positivity, a welcome cry I had yet to understand and would only come to appreciate with hindsight.

- Crystal