Ghana and… the word fat

 

Me and my buddy Doris!

Walking down the street in Ghana as a white girl, there is one word that is constantly shouted at you. Obruni, meaning white person. No matter where you are or what you are doing, obruni is usually your identifier. At school they tell the ‘’lunchladies’’ to get Madame Obruni’s food :p They know that I don’t eat anything that consists of a ball of dough and spicy soup, eaten with the hands, and therefore give me my delicious bowl of not-too-spicy-rice with a nice amount of salad-y stuff. And a spoon. 

                                           There is another word that I’m being called:

Obollo = fat white person.

I’ve been called fat about 50 times whilst I’ve been here. Seriously. Back home, if someone called me fat, I’d either cry or get really, really angry (punch in the face angry) depending on the person.

When I was brushing the chalk dust off my boobs at school the other day and smiled at an 11-year old girl, she knowingly looked back at me and said:

‘’That’s because you’re so fat, Madame.’’

‘’Is that a compliment?’’

‘’Yes, it means you eat good food.’’

That’s basically the thing. Fat is just an adjective here. A positive one at that. Being chubby, chunky or heavy set, you know, those ‘’flattering’’ words people use instead of fat, is a good thing here. It means you have the money to eat more than is good for you.

The big thing though is: How do you react to people shouting at you? I’ve noticed that I’m pretty nice about it. It’s mainly children and old people who shout obruni, and I just don’t want to be rude. I usually do the wave-and-smile and sometimes yell ‘’Ey! Bebini!’’ (black person) at the kids because it makes them laugh. A lot of the kids just want to hold your hand and touch your skin, and most old people just want to show you the few words of English they know.

I honestly don’t mind the attention, as long as it’s positive. They just want to talk to you and tell you that you look pretty. It makes you feel like a celebrity actually.

But you know what’s the best thing about it?  The thing the grown-ups tell me the most? That I’m welcome. They literally say ‘’welcome’’. It makes me feel at home and happy, and had made me realized that Africa isn’t at all as dangerous and scary as we all feel back in Europe. It’s friendly and warm, and I feel so much safer here than I’ve ever felt in a strange place back in Europe.