Journal Entry 11: Color me Red, Yellow and Green

As I was walking through the campus with a Ghanaian friend, we passed by a monkey that was tied to a tree. I’ve seen it a couple of times before and wanted to take a picture of it because it is something I’ve never seen prior to visiting Ghana. In the States, it would not be usual for an animal such as a monkey, to be tied to a tree like a dog or another domesticated animal. As I prepared to take a picture, a Ghanaian man walked by me and my friend and said “don’t do that” in an aggravated voice. “You can’t just go around taking pictures”. Considering we were outside and it looked like a public space, I didn’t really understand what he was getting at until he continued. “Are you from the U.S.?” he asked, while still walking beyond us. “Yes” I said in a stoical tone. “Do you do that in your country?” he asked, as if to provoke a certain response out of me. I was both confused and saddened as I stood for a minute pondering whether or not he was offended by me trying to take pictures or if he was offended by me trying to take pictures as a foreigner. Seeing the puzzled expression on my face, my Ghanaian friend then said, “You know, that never would have happened if you were Ghanaian”.  All I was missing were my red, yellow and green stripes.