Back "Home" in Burkina Part II
So how were the adventures passing for an African you may ask? I’ll tell you they were quite interesting. I do it in Burkina from time to time in order to not be hassled by aggressive tourist guides in the capital or to avoid a person I don’t want to talk to in passing (this one in particular surprised me...believe it or not if you are walking down the street, excuse me, if you are black and walking down the street in a country full of black people, it is possible for people who know you personally not to notice you. Even if you walk right past them! I guess you just blend in to the crowd, I’ve pulled it off a couple of times in fact). But anyways the results of playing an African in Ghana were favorable but they had a few twists of their own.
Case #1
Once I was walking down the street in Accra and out the corner of my eye I saw an old guy stop walking once he spotted me. He then started to hiss at me to get my attention. As usual when presented with this situation, I ignored his hiss and kept walking which in this case was quite easy since we were on opposite sides of the street. He continued to hiss at me and at the crescendo of a hiss I looked back at him and he gave me a look like I was being unbelievably rude. We were both on opposite sides of the road with traffic rolling by and I turned around and walked in his direction to see what he wanted, however I wasn’t going to cross the street. He gave me another look of disappointment as he motioned for me to cross the street. I waited until the traffic was clear and ran across the street to see what this guy wanted so I could continue in peace. He said in a semi-harsh voice, “Teid nbje und tigedj ngnnae” (or at least that’s what my ears picked up). I replied, “What?” with a confused look on my face, He continued but this time more forceful, “Teid nbje und tigedj ngnnae cha!” with a disappointing look on his face and I felt an expectation of me to do or say something apologetic. I was left no choice but to say, “I’m sorry, I only understand English.” A slight smile formed on his face and he pleasantly replied in perfect English, “Oh, I’m sorry, you resemble someone I know. I thought you were him.” Without faltering he immediately turned around and went on his way.
Case #2
On the same day I was walking down a street and a lady from a store front yelled out at me and said, “Hey come here!” Perplexed I pointed to myself and mouthed “Me?” She shook her head yes and motioned assertively for me to get over there. I hesitantly approached her to see what it was she wanted. She asked me, “Where are you from?” I quickly said “The U.S.” She demanded belligerently, “You aren’t Nigerian?” I told her no, and then she launched into quizzing me on facts to make sure that I was American. After I provided enough evidence to her liking she apologized for yelling at me and told me that I looked like a Nigerian businessman she once knew.
Case # 3
I was staying at a beach resort in Krokrobite and I was shooting the breeze with the security guy. He was telling me that the first day I came to the resort and went to the “Reception Desk/Hut” that he thought that (once again) I was this Nigerian guy (no lie) that had come about half a year ago. This particular guy didn’t come as a guest but as a businessman who wanted to sell some goods to the owner for the resort. Ultimately the Nigerian guy ended up stealing some tents from the resort. The whole businessman thing was a con. The security guy said he was shocked to see the Nigerian guy come back months later and then go check in like nothing ever happened. He said that we would have gone after me if hadn’t see that the owner didn’t react negatively to my arrival.
Those weren’t the results that I was expecting to achieve but I guess it’s the price you pay to avoid being hassled for being American. On a side note, be on the look out for the Nigerian guy who looks like me. I would have thought nothing of it if not for the two people in two different cities who said that I looked like a Nigerian businessman that they knew. If you see me around and I’m acting shady or slightly weird, be warned! That is not me! Call the police immediately so that we can catch this Nigerian guy. Ironically, I bet he’s in America trying to pass for a native African American.
So how were the adventures passing for an African you may ask? I’ll tell you they were quite interesting. I do it in Burkina from time to time in order to not be hassled by aggressive tourist guides in the capital or to avoid a person I don’t want to talk to in passing (this one in particular surprised me...believe it or not if you are walking down the street, excuse me, if you are black and walking down the street in a country full of black people, it is possible for people who know you personally not to notice you. Even if you walk right past them! I guess you just blend in to the crowd, I’ve pulled it off a couple of times in fact). But anyways the results of playing an African in Ghana were favorable but they had a few twists of their own.
Case #1
Once I was walking down the street in Accra and out the corner of my eye I saw an old guy stop walking once he spotted me. He then started to hiss at me to get my attention. As usual when presented with this situation, I ignored his hiss and kept walking which in this case was quite easy since we were on opposite sides of the street. He continued to hiss at me and at the crescendo of a hiss I looked back at him and he gave me a look like I was being unbelievably rude. We were both on opposite sides of the road with traffic rolling by and I turned around and walked in his direction to see what he wanted, however I wasn’t going to cross the street. He gave me another look of disappointment as he motioned for me to cross the street. I waited until the traffic was clear and ran across the street to see what this guy wanted so I could continue in peace. He said in a semi-harsh voice, “Teid nbje und tigedj ngnnae” (or at least that’s what my ears picked up). I replied, “What?” with a confused look on my face, He continued but this time more forceful, “Teid nbje und tigedj ngnnae cha!” with a disappointing look on his face and I felt an expectation of me to do or say something apologetic. I was left no choice but to say, “I’m sorry, I only understand English.” A slight smile formed on his face and he pleasantly replied in perfect English, “Oh, I’m sorry, you resemble someone I know. I thought you were him.” Without faltering he immediately turned around and went on his way.
Case #2
On the same day I was walking down a street and a lady from a store front yelled out at me and said, “Hey come here!” Perplexed I pointed to myself and mouthed “Me?” She shook her head yes and motioned assertively for me to get over there. I hesitantly approached her to see what it was she wanted. She asked me, “Where are you from?” I quickly said “The U.S.” She demanded belligerently, “You aren’t Nigerian?” I told her no, and then she launched into quizzing me on facts to make sure that I was American. After I provided enough evidence to her liking she apologized for yelling at me and told me that I looked like a Nigerian businessman she once knew.
Case # 3
I was staying at a beach resort in Krokrobite and I was shooting the breeze with the security guy. He was telling me that the first day I came to the resort and went to the “Reception Desk/Hut” that he thought that (once again) I was this Nigerian guy (no lie) that had come about half a year ago. This particular guy didn’t come as a guest but as a businessman who wanted to sell some goods to the owner for the resort. Ultimately the Nigerian guy ended up stealing some tents from the resort. The whole businessman thing was a con. The security guy said he was shocked to see the Nigerian guy come back months later and then go check in like nothing ever happened. He said that we would have gone after me if hadn’t see that the owner didn’t react negatively to my arrival.
Those weren’t the results that I was expecting to achieve but I guess it’s the price you pay to avoid being hassled for being American. On a side note, be on the look out for the Nigerian guy who looks like me. I would have thought nothing of it if not for the two people in two different cities who said that I looked like a Nigerian businessman that they knew. If you see me around and I’m acting shady or slightly weird, be warned! That is not me! Call the police immediately so that we can catch this Nigerian guy. Ironically, I bet he’s in America trying to pass for a native African American.
posted by Ryan at 9/11/2005 10:26:00 AM
1 Comments:
So wait Ryan. You say you successfully passed as an African because you looked like this Nigerian guy? Obviously, you have plenty of things going for you to help you pass as an African. I was expecting to hear a story about how you being an African instead of an African American was better off. I'm just confused.
andrew
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