Life with 27 housemates in Cape Coast

In a short time, everyday life has become filled with new routines, busy markets, and small encounters with people along the streets. It’s all these changes that make daily life here so special.

One of the first things I noticed when I came here was how many roommates I had suddenly gotten.

We are 28 students in total, all living under the same roof. Most of us share rooms two by two, but it’s also possible to have a single room, which costs a bit extra.

The rooms are relatively large, and all have their own bathroom. This means that even though there are many of us, everyone has their own place to retreat to.

A lot of the social life takes place in the common areas we have.

During the daytime, the outdoor area is used as a reading circle, dining space, workout area, and anything else you can imagine. There is one area with tables and chairs where you can sit and read or do other things, and an open area for exercise or dancing.

Even though we have a limited outdoor area, the only thing that can stop us is our creativity. When evening comes, we often gather indoors.

Inside is where we have seminars and eat breakfast and lunch during the day. In the evening it’s turned into a gaming area, dining table, movie theater, and whatever else we might want.

Another thing you quickly get to know here in Cape Coast is the transportation. The cheapest way to get around is by shared taxi. They run fixed routes through the town and pick up passengers along the way.

At first this can be quite confusing and hard to get an overview of, but after a while it becomes second nature. Before you know it, it feels completely natural to jump into a taxi together with other people.

Sometimes the taxi stops every five minutes to pick up a new passenger. Before you know it, you’re sitting shoulder to shoulder with people you’ve never met before.

A good tip is to always have some change ready, because you pay the driver directly when you hop out, and they appreciate it when it goes quickly.

It’s also possible to be in a group of four and hire a taxi just for yourselves. This costs a bit more – such a trip often costs 20 Norwegian kroner, while a shared taxi costs around 4 kroner per person.

And for those times when you really can’t be bothered to deal with finding a taxi and just want to get from A to B, we also use the Bolt taxi app here.

The markets here are an adventure and a challenge in themselves. In Norway we can often walk into a store and find everything we need for a meal. Here it usually takes several stops.

A routine we’ve developed is that we often start in a grocery store to find all the food items and dairy products.

Next, we head to one of the many markets you can find in Cape Coast. You can find fruit and vegetables in all the colors of the rainbow.

Vendors shout out what they’re selling, people move between the stalls, and everywhere there are piles of mangoes, pineapples, and avocados.

If you need some new clothes or fabric to make a dress, the market is the place to be. Prices will vary quite a bit, but if you buy local goods, it’s generally a good deal.

Along the streets it’s almost impossible to walk past anyone without being greeted with “hello!” or “how are you?”.

Many times that’s all they say, but sometimes they’ll stop you for a little chat.

Coming from a cold country like Norway to Ghana, where everyone says hello, is a big contrast.

Here it’s considered rude not to greet the people you walk past, which is actually a really nice thing. When has it ever hurt anyone to say hi?

If you need new shoes or fruit, or really anything at all, you’ll find it on a short walk.

You’ll walk past vendors balancing baskets of fruit, water bags, or bread on their heads. In the stalls along the road you can find just about anything. Need a new phone case? They’ve got it.

Some of the questions I get most often when I talk to people back home are, “What is it like to be a girl?” and “Do you feel safe when you walk around?”

The short answer is yes. People here are often more open and curious than we are in Norway. So you will often be approached by people who just want to talk.

This can feel very unfamiliar and maybe even a bit exhausting at first, but you’ll quickly realize that they’re only doing it out of pure curiosity. And who knows, maybe the person you talked to will become your new friend.

When I think back on everyday life in Cape Coast so far, it’s the small moments I remember best.

The random conversations with the woman who sells pineapples, the rides through the city in a completely packed shared taxi, and the evenings when “everyone” among the students tries to cook dinner in the kitchen at the same time.