a throwback to ghana

My friend Zach alerted me to this video from a Ghanaian tv station about a white Californian who went to Accra and became a tro-tro mate. The tro-tros are the uber-cheap privately run minibuses we used to get around when we weren't taking taxis. The mates are the guys that yell out the tro-tro's destination so people know to get on it, tell the driver when to stop for people, and take the money and give change. It's a complicated job, because you have to know all the rates for the different destinations, which change depending on when people get on, and keep track of who's paid and who hasn't, and give all the right change--that can be really hard because sometimes they collect all the money and only then then hand out change to everyone, so they have to remember who's going where, how much they owe, how much they paid, and how much change they're owed. Toward the end of the segment, they interview the driver (while he's driving), who's speaking Twi. If you listen, you can hear him say "Thirty-Seven" and "Accra, Accra, Accra," which are tro-tro destinations within Accra, and then the word "obruni" over and over again, referring to the white guy. I'm pretty sure he's imitating the obruni mate yelling out the destinations, and then discussing how all the people react, saying "obruni obruni obruni."



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