The great hospitality I received from the shop owner was probably owing to the fact that I am a whiteman. However, I rather believe that it is the peaceful environment of the small town that allows people to be extremely nice to the outsiders. At least on its surface, Labadi’s people live in a harmonious way. Although the shops, road and houses are in poor condition, people had smile on their faces. I knew from the shop owner that in this small society many people know each other. Moreover, the traditional sanctions forbid people from committing crimes, so I did not feel any discomfort at night as I did in central urban area in Accra. I also did not encounter any situation when people ask money from me. These are the elements that urbanization has wiped off. Take urban area in Accra as an example, people were busy pursuing economical goals and thus competition was very high. People even went to church to ask favor of God to defeat their competitors. When I was walking in the Makola Mall, I only felt an agglomeration of mess. Of course, modernization is far more complicated and has many positive effects. But I think the traditional small scale society still has its own advantage, and people who chose to live in such life style should not be blamed or be considered as pitiful.
Monday, October 12, 2009
The Labadi shop owner
I knew a lady whose job is selling the materials used to cook Ghanaian cuisines and soups Her little booth is located around the Labadi station and because so, I got to know her when I was waiting for tro tro. Labadi is a small town in which Ga people reside. There is almost no attraction to the foreigners in a typical local town like this. Probably for this reason, she was very excited when seeing me. I was invited to sit on the only bench of her store on the other day. She treated me very generously with light soup and kenke. She insisted on asking me to take more cow meat and fish, and even put a piece of meat she already had a bite in front of me and ask me to eat. Such hospitality led to cultural shock to both of us. Under such circumstance in China, one is supposed to keep saying no and being extremely polite about it. But in this case, when I told her I felt bad about taking too much from her, she almost misunderstood me. “What? You don’t like me?” She was surprised.
The great hospitality I received from the shop owner was probably owing to the fact that I am a whiteman. However, I rather believe that it is the peaceful environment of the small town that allows people to be extremely nice to the outsiders. At least on its surface, Labadi’s people live in a harmonious way. Although the shops, road and houses are in poor condition, people had smile on their faces. I knew from the shop owner that in this small society many people know each other. Moreover, the traditional sanctions forbid people from committing crimes, so I did not feel any discomfort at night as I did in central urban area in Accra. I also did not encounter any situation when people ask money from me. These are the elements that urbanization has wiped off. Take urban area in Accra as an example, people were busy pursuing economical goals and thus competition was very high. People even went to church to ask favor of God to defeat their competitors. When I was walking in the Makola Mall, I only felt an agglomeration of mess. Of course, modernization is far more complicated and has many positive effects. But I think the traditional small scale society still has its own advantage, and people who chose to live in such life style should not be blamed or be considered as pitiful.
The great hospitality I received from the shop owner was probably owing to the fact that I am a whiteman. However, I rather believe that it is the peaceful environment of the small town that allows people to be extremely nice to the outsiders. At least on its surface, Labadi’s people live in a harmonious way. Although the shops, road and houses are in poor condition, people had smile on their faces. I knew from the shop owner that in this small society many people know each other. Moreover, the traditional sanctions forbid people from committing crimes, so I did not feel any discomfort at night as I did in central urban area in Accra. I also did not encounter any situation when people ask money from me. These are the elements that urbanization has wiped off. Take urban area in Accra as an example, people were busy pursuing economical goals and thus competition was very high. People even went to church to ask favor of God to defeat their competitors. When I was walking in the Makola Mall, I only felt an agglomeration of mess. Of course, modernization is far more complicated and has many positive effects. But I think the traditional small scale society still has its own advantage, and people who chose to live in such life style should not be blamed or be considered as pitiful.
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