Are you single? You Can Be My Wife.

In college, if I was craving for a burrito, my favorite place to go was Felipe's. The burritos are good, the speed that the burritos are made with quick spatula dollops of salsa and guacamole was amusing, and the servers would always give me compliments in Spanish (“What would you like, mi amor?”). Who wouldn’t love being flattered occasionally?

Growing up in a relatively large Hispanic community in South Florida, frequent visits to Felipe's, and my spring break trip to Peru have led me to believe no group of people could be more forward than the Hispanics. I am absolutely wrong. The Ghanaians have reached a completely new level.



As my fellow Obruni/bruni (which actually means white not foreigner in Twi) Erika and I have roamed the streets in Kumasi, we have made several new “friends”. Most of them are street hawkers selling paintings and other goods, but cab drivers, fellow diners, and people that we pass on the streets are included in the mix. They all want to know our names and tell us that we are special and that this connection we have established with them here in Ghana is everlasting and unique. Every encounter will end with a request for our number and sometimes address. And many of them will ask if we are single or are if we are still looking. If we answer “yes,” then they get very excited and rather than attempt to woo us, will forthrightly tell us that we could be their wife. Laughing the suggestion off is not enough because if we ever see these people again, they remember our names!

While this is very flattering, I think I prefer the cat-calls of “linda”, “guapa”, and “bonita” to these insistent marriage proposals!