{"id":12589,"date":"2018-02-22T14:23:59","date_gmt":"2018-02-22T19:23:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/goglobal\/?p=12589"},"modified":"2018-02-22T14:23:59","modified_gmt":"2018-02-22T19:23:59","slug":"joe-the-ghanaian-scammer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/goglobal\/?p=12589","title":{"rendered":"Getting Scammed: A Personal Adventure in Microeconomics"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cNo, no, its eleven cedis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEleven!?\u201d<\/p>\n

On the counter in a campus caf\u00e9 was a can of Coke and a peach Snapple, but I only had offered a five cedi note to the man behind the counter. He told me the Snapple was 6 and the Coke was 5. I was incredulous.<\/p>\n

\u201cFive cedis for the Coke?\u201d<\/p>\n

The attendant clicked his tongue at me in affirmation.<\/p>\n

I reluctantly fished more cash out of my small wallet and handed it over. I left the building with my lunch and drinks and walked back to the International House where I was waiting in between classes, all the while thinking that I had just bought a Coke from the same gentleman last week for 2gh, 50p.<\/p>\n

One New Ghanaian Cedi is worth just less than a US quarter. Change is in pesewa values, and logically 100p is equal to 1gh. I\u2019ve heard the government mints a 1p coin, but it\u2019s of such little value that I\u2019ve never seen it in circulation (Take a hint @US).<\/p>\n

Usually, I spend around 100gh per week on meals. I can get a full meal and drink for around 2-5gh and I typically only eat 2 full meals a day. I do a lot of snacking.<\/p>\n

By now I\u2019ve become familiar with the places where I can get the most for my money. There\u2019s a, for lack of a better term, food court called Bush Kanteen between ISH (where I live) and the main classroom buildings where I can get a full plate of rice for 2gh and a soda for 1. The night market just outside ISH has meals around 5gh, and at JQB, the lecture building with the caf\u00e9 in question, I get a serving of rice and a Coke for 4gh.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A plate of fried rice and an egg, a meal that kept me full for most of the afternoon and only set me back 2gh.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019ve been to JQB more than a few times for snacks and water and food, and they\u2019ve pretty much remained consistent with their prices, until yesterday. I racked my brains to figure out why the man charged me double for a soda; the only difference I could ascertain was that I asked for a Coke in a can instead of a plastic bottle \u2013 but aren\u2019t cans always cheaper than bottles? I already knew that the cheapest way to get soda is in a glass bottle, since the glass is sent back to the manufacturer and reused, but I\u2019ve never paid more for aluminum than for plastic.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t want to consider that this nice guy, who\u2019s got to recognize me by now, scammed me.<\/p>\n

Scammed! In my fourth week here! Frankly I\u2019m embarrassed.<\/p>\n

In our first week here we were lectured on the local cash economies that allow Accra to function. Unless at a supermarket or shop in the mall, the price for an item is negotiable with the seller, and most sellers immediately double or triple their selling price at the sight of my skin. I\u2019ve become decent at these interactions, resisting any seller who I know won\u2019t budge on their prices, and returning to sellers who keep their prices consistently low. Sometimes I walk away knowing I was probably overcharged, but the exchange rate of the cedi is such that I\u2019m rarely concerned.<\/p>\n

I thought I was getting the hang of it, but if the same guy doubled his price for me and I paid without resisting, maybe I\u2019m not.<\/p>\n

I know I\u2019m allowed to make mistakes, both here and at home. And I know that a mistake that cost me less than a dollar isn\u2019t a lot to get worked up about. But shouldn\u2019t I be able to tell when I\u2019m being taken advantage of? I find myself unable to stand up for myself and insist that I\u2019m being overcharged, or insist that I\u2019m being treated poorly in other situations. Sometimes this is as simple as 2gh, and sometimes it\u2019s a lot more harmful (I\u2019m still working on how to talk about an example of this that happened last weekend, so be patient with me). And I know I\u2019ll never blend in here, but every time I let someone take advantage of me because I\u2019m American, I feel less confident about my presence here.<\/p>\n

This is me holding myself accountable in writing \u2013 next time I go to JQB for a pop, I\u2019m only going to give him what I think is appropriate. Next time I get a plate of rice, I\u2019ll insist to only pay what it\u2019s worth. Ghanaians are all more outgoing and confident than I am, so I think it\u2019s time I meet them where they\u2019re at. I\u2019ll save that 2gh 50p if my life depends on it, dammit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Wish me well,<\/p>\n

Anna<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

P.S. The USAC group took a crazy trip this weekend to a monkey sanctuary, the highest mountain in Ghana, and a waterfall. Here’s some pics:<\/p>\n

\"\"
View from the top of Mt. Afadjato. Only half of the mountains in this photo are in Ghana – the rest are on the Togo side of the border.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Me, about to die climbing up this mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Nicole, Kayla, Clarissa, and myself, after having died climbing up the mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
A monkey eating a stolen banana at Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary in Hohoe, a city in the Volta Region.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cNo, no, its eleven cedis.\u201d \u201cEleven!?\u201d On the counter in a campus caf\u00e9 was a can of Coke and a peach Snapple, but I only had offered a five cedi note to the man behind the counter. He told me the Snapple was 6 and the Coke was 5. I was incredulous. \u201cFive cedis for … <\/p>\n

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