Today was a special day for me because I left my usual French-speaking environment to travel to an English-speaking country.
At 4:30 AM, I got up. I quickly did what was necessary and left home. I went to Ocean Transport Yopougon to take a bus to Agnibilékrou. When I arrived there, I looked for Takikro’s bus station in order to take a bus to Takikro, the last village before Ghana.
At 3:00 PM, I arrived there and continued on my way to Ghana. After checking in at the Ivorian and Ghanaian border, I was on Ghanaian soil. When I arrived, I exchanged CFA for GHC (Ghanaian Cedi).
I took a bus to Dormaa, and then another bus to Sunyani, the town where I will stay to study English in August.
During this journey, I started my first practice session. I greeted my neighbors in English and took my seat. I noticed that everyone in the bus was speaking « Twi », the local language. After 30 minutes, I asked my neighbor:
— « Excuse me, what language are you speaking? »
— « Twi, » he answered, surprised!
There was a moment of silence in the bus, and he asked:
— « Where are you from? » — « Ivory Coast, » I replied.
Then I asked him: — « Why aren’t you speaking English on the bus? »
— « I’m chatting with my brothers, so we prefer to use our local language. »
— « Okay, that’s good! It’s my first time here! »
— « Oh, welcome! And where are you going? »
— « I’m going to Sunyani SMAid School to learn English. »
— « Oh, it might take you a long time! »
They all laughed together! The driver told me:
— « Don’t worry, you’ll learn easily! »
— « Thanks! »
My neighbor replied:
— « Will you stay here after learning English, or will you go back? »
— « I will go back. » — « You should stay here to teach French! I need a French teacher here. »
— « That’s a good option, thank you for the advice! »
— « French is too difficult! »
They started laughing.
— « No, French is easier to learn than English! For example, in French, basic words don’t change, but in English, words have many different pronunciations even if they are written the same way! »
When we arrived at our destination, they spontaneously helped me get home safely.
I would like to specifically thank Daniel and Stephen for their help.