Oburoni And Opporn(twi)nity

i overhead the term opporn(twi)nity on the radio. the program called kokonsa (gossip) was a comical satire on the happenings in the electorate. it was in a mix of pidgin english (the ghanaian flavor) and twi. twi (pronounced 'chui' ) is a well spoken local language in ghana. i have come to understand that there are other dialects , ga, ewe, hausa etc but most ghanaians (at least those i have come in contact with) seem to speak and understand twi. i helped a neighbour out on some computer related stuff and he was taken aback by the fact that i had lived in ghana for over a year and i was yet to pick up twi. my handy excuse was that most people i interacted with spoke english (which is true) but it got me thinking. maybe its time i started a crash program on twi. i wonder if there's a twi for dummies available. i'll probably have to find a way to fraternize with the twi speaking public. probably would have to take a 'tro-tro' more often. i do have some words in my vocabulary though, primary of course would be 'pacho' meaning please.

i dare say my host are a very polite people. if the word 'the' is the most used word in the english language, 'pacho' is the most used word in twi. pacho is used in almost every conversation especially with an 'oburoni'. oburoni i initially thought meant white man (or person to be politically correct) but i got to know it actually means foreigner. so this is an oburoni writing. back to pacho. if you are discussing fares with a taxi driver, while you are driving at a bargain he'll use the term pacho very frequently even as he's disagreeing with your offer. still on the oburoni matter i discovered that we oburonis have an affinity for one another irrespective of color (or creed?).

on my way home from work recently, i came across this korean-chinese-japanese-chinko-looking person trying to hitch a ride. i guess the spirit of brotherhood made me stop to see if i could be of help. after some back and forth exchange trying to break the language barrier using the universal but complicated english language ( for the first time , i could appreciate semantics and syntax). my colleague ended up acting as a translator. he seemed to be better at understanding the chinko english. we found out the fella was trying to get somewhere in the vicinity but didn't have any money i figured that was why he was trying to hitch a ride. in the spirit of the obruni (i think i've used this before) i asked him to hop in and we tried to find where he was going and then dropped him off at his destination. as we dropped him off i and my colleague couldn't help wondering if we would dare take such a risk back in home country. would we stop for him on third mainland or what? and even if we did have the good heart to do so, what guarantees would we have that some area boys wont jump out of nowhere to harass us. the aspect i really couldn't come to terms with is how a foreigner would be without the necessary cash to move him to his destination in a strange land? are people so helpful around the world? given my colour would i have received similar help in his country china, korea, japan etc... well those are rhetorical questions no point in bothering with them.

in addition to their politeness, my host seem to have a very high awareness of their politics. unlike, in home country where there's a lot of political apathy (i subscribe to it too), here in ghana the majority is aware of what's going on and have one or two opinions. i think this contributes immensely to keeping their leaders on their toes. i have listened to one too many mps or ministers trying to defend themselves over the radio. it is also very interesting how the leaders are always ready and willing to answer phone calls from journalists as early as 8:00am in the morning over something printed in the papers about them. it's interesting to hear leaders talk without prepared speeches or outside of press conferences. i really can't recall any impromptu interview with the press by any of the leaders in my home country. sometimes, i find myself taking the side of the harassed minister or mp sure its about accountability but i guess they are used to the system and it certainly keeps them on their toes. the education minister was recently given a hard time because she was supposed to have said that current education system kept girls in school for too long and hence they would have difficulty finding husbands. the poor woman was forced to defend herself saying something similar to being quoted out of context and that she has said other good things which wasn't reported.