張健

一邊是熙熙攘攘，分秒必爭(zhēng)的美國，一邊是悠然自得，清閑自在的加納。兩種文化碰撞在一起，迸濺出新鮮的際遇。熱情的出租車司機(jī)，步態(tài)從容的女人，隨處可見的小攤販，對(duì)美元模樣頗為好奇的小孩……如果我沒有去加納，我不會(huì)知道他們是怎樣的；如果我沒有去，我不知道他們眼中的我是怎樣的。從打包行李、告別親友、匆匆吃夠本地美食開始，旅行就已精彩起來，真正置身異國之后，更是精彩無限！我在加納到底遇見了什么，你想知道嗎？

“Are you excited？” everyone asked me once they learned I would be travelling to Ghana. I would reply with the standard， “Im so excited！” and continue to elaborate1 on my travel plans. However， honestly， the weeks leading up to the big trip were extremely daunting.2 I was going to be travelling to Ghana， Africa for two months. I was going to find a home among strangers， comfort in an alien3 world. I was excited while simultaneously deeply terrified of the unknown.4

The preparation for the trip was a feat5 in itself. It consisted of shopping for clothes appropriate for African weather， gadgets to repel stealthy mosquitos， vaccinations and antibiotics to prevent exposure to diseases， snacks for whenever I cant find or cant stomach local food， and miscellaneous gifts for friends and strangers.6 In order to prepare for the paucity of junk food and good old American grub， I spent the last couple of days in America eating to my hearts content.7 This meant that I feasted on lasagna，8 ice cream， chips， and chocolate until my body begged me to finally fly off to Africa for a better diet. In order to accustom myself to the traditions and traditional foods， I conducted a plethora of research and watched numerous videos on social etiquette in Ghana.9

I also spent the last weeks catching up with friends and family， as I wouldnt see them for two months. The hardest goodbye， hands down10， was with my mother. My father， mother， and I stood in the airport as I clutched my boarding pass and passport.11 We were laughing at something and with a lull12 in the conversation we stopped. My father began to message the friend who would be picking me up from the Accra airport and my mother and I patiently stood there in silence. As I started to think about how much she had helped me pack， stayed up13 until 3：00 a.m. organizing my things for the big journey， and how she was more worried about my trip than I was， I began to tear up. I hadnt even said goodbye， yet tears streamed down my face as I thought about how I wouldnt feel her gentle embrace for days on end.14

Now Im here in Ghana. It was incredibly overwhelming from the get go.15 As I exited the airport， a hoard of taxi drivers bombarded me asking if I needed a ride to my destination.16 After rejecting about 20 taxi cab drivers within 10 minutes， my ride finally showed up.17 As we drove from Accra to Kumasi， I absorbed the environment around me. Women lugged buckets， almost half their size， atop their heads as they gracefully walked along the busy streets， un-phased by the burden they bore and the beeps of the automobiles buzzing past them.18 Everyones skin color was brown. I remember glancing19 down at my white hands that seemed so alien and pale in comparison to everything else around me.

I also noticed that there were few restaurants， rather many outdoor， small-scale vendors scattered alongside the road，20 providing quick meals to passers. Secondly， I noticed a majority of vendors were women， but interestingly enough the coconut vendors have been predominantly males.21 I assume this is because cutting coconuts is a particularly labor-intensive22 job.

One of the most difficult things to adjust to was the outright alienation.23 Although they dont alienate foreigners with negative intentions，24 rather they draw attention to them in amazement， its difficult to feel comfortable in an environment where youre the center of attention all of the time. For example， a foreigner cant walk the streets without a child or idle adult hollering， “Broni.”25 “Broni” is the term for a “white man” but the term “white man” has a very loose26 definition. A white man is simply one who is not black， meaning Asians， Europeans， Australians， and Americans may all be classified as a Broni. As soon as the word “Broni” is shouted， vendors， children playing on the streets， and individuals carrying conversation stop and turn to stare at the said Broni. I usually try to play it off27 by staring into the distance as I walk straight ahead or smile at the individuals staring at me （and they always smile back）， but theres no denying that I feel incredibly uncomfortable at times like these. An evening stroll turns into an entire ordeal.28

Despite the obvious alienation， the people here are extremely friendly. At this very moment， I have already had two strangers approach me and talk to me， asking my name and where Im from. Its incredibly easy to make friends， as all Ghanaians seem so deeply engrossed in individuals hailing from America.29 Nearly 90% of Ghanaians that Ive spoken to half jokingly （although I presume some ask slightly seriously with a glimmer of hope）30 ask if I can take them back to America with me. Children and adults alike are always mesmerized with31 the mention of America. They ask me to tell them stories about America， American people， American food， American pop culture， and the differences between America and Ghana. I remember one day I was surrounded by at least 20 children， and they asked me to take out an American dollar for them to see. I didnt have American dollars with me， and instead I took out a chewy granola bar.32 I said this is what I eat in America and gave it to one of the older children， and 10 seconds later he was mauled by his peers who also wanted a taste of “American food.”33

The weeks before arriving in Ghana were undoubtedly stressful， but now that Ive arrived Ive realized there was nothing to be scared of. Within days， I felt at home in a country where nearly nothing is the way I know it. I can feel that this trip will be one of the most meaningful trips of my life， since so many experiences have already changed my perspective34 and views on life. This is the perfect opportunity for me to reflect on my past， present， and future， as I draw back from the hustle and bustle of American life and entrench myself in the laid-back Ghana culture.35 Curious as to what life-changing thoughts I conjure36？ Dont worry， Ill keep you posted.

1. elaborate： 精心制作，詳細(xì)計(jì)劃。

2. lead up to： 臨近，緊挨在……之前；daunting： 令人畏懼的，令人膽怯的。

3. alien： 外國的，異族的。

4. simultaneously： 同時(shí)發(fā)生地，同時(shí)出現(xiàn)地； terrified： 極度恐慌的，非常害怕的。

5. feat： 偉業(yè)，壯舉。

6. appropriate： 合適的，恰當(dāng)?shù)模籫adget： 小器具，小裝置；repel： 擊退，驅(qū)逐；stealthy： 偷偷摸摸的，鬼鬼祟祟的；mosquito： 蚊子；vaccination： 疫苗；antibiotic： 抗生素；stomach： v. 能吃，吃得下；miscellaneous： 五花八門的，各式各樣的。

7. 加納沒有垃圾食品，也沒有好吃的經(jīng)典美式美食，為此，出發(fā)前最后幾天，我敞開肚皮吃了個(gè)夠。paucity： 少量，不足；grub： 食物；to ones hearts content： 盡情地。

8. feast on： 盡情地吃，大快朵頤；lasagna： 千層面。

9. a plethora of： 大量的；numerous： 眾多的，許多的；etiquette： 禮儀，禮節(jié)。

10. hands down： 無疑地。

11. clutch： 緊握，緊抓；boarding pass： 登機(jī)牌；passport： 護(hù)照。

12. lull： 間歇期，平靜期。

13. stay up： 深夜不睡，熬夜。

14. gentle： 溫柔的；days on end： 連續(xù)數(shù)日。

15.從一開始，情況就讓人難以招架。 incredibly： 非常，極其；overwhelming： 勢(shì)不可擋的，令人不知所措的。

16. 我一出機(jī)場(chǎng)，就有一群出租車司機(jī)追著問我要不要打車去目的地。a hoard of： 一批；bombard： 連珠炮似地提問，大量提問；destination： 目的地。

17. reject： 拒絕考慮，不同意；cab： 出租車，計(jì)程車；show up： 出現(xiàn)，露面。

18. 女人們運(yùn)著桶，把齊腰大小的桶頂在頭上，步態(tài)優(yōu)雅地走在熙攘的街面上，頭頂?shù)闹亓俊⑸砼择傔^汽車的喇叭聲，都擾不亂她們的腳步。lug： 吃力地搬運(yùn)；bucket： （有提梁的）桶；atop： 在……頂上，在……上面；gracefully： 優(yōu)雅地；un-phased： 即unfazed，不受影響的，不受煩擾的；beep： 嘟嘟聲，嗶嗶聲；buzz： 發(fā)出嗡嗡聲。

19. glance： 瞥，迅速地看一眼。

20. small-scale： 小規(guī)模的；vendor： 小販，攤販；scatter： 分散，散開。

21. coconut： 椰子；predominantly： 絕大多數(shù)地，大部分地。

22. labor-intensive： 勞動(dòng)密集型的。

23. outright： 公開的，直截了當(dāng)?shù)?；alienation： 疏遠(yuǎn)，格格不入。

24. alienate： 使疏遠(yuǎn)，離間；negative： 壞的，有害的。

25. 比如，一個(gè)外國人每每走在街上，就會(huì)有小孩或者無所事事的大人大叫一聲“Broni”。 idle： 無所事事的，空閑的；holler： 叫喊，叫嚷。

26. loose： 意義含糊的，不嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)?shù)摹?/p>

27. play it off： 假裝，以……冒充。

28. stroll： 散步，閑逛；ordeal： 煎熬，折磨。

29. be engrossed in： 熱衷于；hail from： 生于，來自。

30. presume： 相信，推測(cè)；a glimmer of： 一些，少許。

31. be mesmerized with： 對(duì)……著迷。

32. chewy： 耐嚼的；granola： 格蘭諾拉麥片（用烘烤過的谷類、堅(jiān)果等配制成的早餐食品）。

33. maul： 抓傷，咬傷；peer： 同齡人，同伴。

34. perspective： 思考方法，態(tài)度。

35. 從熙攘喧囂的美國生活中抽出身來，一頭扎進(jìn)悠然自得的加納文化中，這正是我反思過去、審視現(xiàn)在、沉思未來的完美契機(jī)。reflect on： 沉思，深思；hustle and bustle： 熙熙攘攘，忙碌；entrench： 使……根深蒂固；laid-back： 悠然自得的，放松的。

36. conjure： 使……呈現(xiàn)于腦際，使想起。