Obruni... continued

     After being in Ghana one month, meeting and talking to many people, and knowing my way around Cape Coast, I have recovered new information regarding a previous post I made. If you have been keeping up with this blog then you recall when I talked about the word obruni. If you haven’t been keeping up with this blog (shame on you), do not worry, I will catch you up. Obruni is Fante for “white person”. In a previous post, many weeks ago, I talked about how the other volunteers and I are constantly hearing the word called out to us wherever we go, mainly from children. They say “Obruni!” we turn around and smile and they continue with an enthusiastic “How are you? I’m fine, thank you”.

For the first time in my life I am considered a white person. At first I thought that maybe they didn’t know what to think about me because I’m not white. But after conversations with my Ghanaian friends and reading on the subject, I have come to find that I am in fact considered an obruni to Ghanaian eyes. I explained to our co-worker George how this is strange to me because in my continent I am not considered a white person, I am a Latina, we have “brown” skin. I went on to further explain the whole being Latin American thing to him. He thought it was interesting. In Africa, anyone who is not Black, is considered white. “Does it bother you to be called white?” George asked me.

“No” I said, “I understand why I am called that, but it is just weird for me because I am not white”.

      It’s not a big deal, I have accepted and gotten used to the nickname from strangers, but whenever I get the chance to engage in a race conversation I like to tell the Ghanaians about Latin Americans. Of all the people we’ve met there has only been one woman who, after asking where I was from, has said “Oh no, you are not Obruni. I studied Geography, you are close to Mexico right?” Happily I answered yes. “You dance salsa?” she asked me. Even more happily I replied “Yes!” To which she remarked again “I studied geography, you are Latina”.

Yes, yes I am.