The way that Ghana is set up, it is surrounded by Francophone countries. Francophone countries are countries where a large percentage of the population speaks French. On the right of Ghana is Togo, to the left, Cote D’Ivoire, and up above is Burkina Faso. All Fracophone countries.
In Accra, there is a French association called Alliance Francaise which promotes the, “French language, cultural diversity and Franco-Ghanaian cultural exchanges”. This weekend they had a festival and I had the opportunity to attend with a few of my friends. It was a great opportunity for me to be surrounded by French speakers, see performances from various countries (including some performances from Senegal!), and see what the center actually looks like! There were tables and stands that represented various countries. I stopped by Cote D’Ivoire, Guinea, Ghana, etc. There were also tables and stands that did not represent countries but rather different companies and business in Accra. For example, I was stopped by two individuals representing Accra City Hotel to learn about what they had to offer.
After a while, we had lunch at the restaurant located in the Alliance Francaise. It was a cute small place with wooden and Kente cloth decor, paintings of women and animals, and a small stand where they sold wax print clothing. The food wasn’t too pricy. I would say the range of the meals varies from 15 cedis to 35 cedis which is approximately $3 to $8. After eating, we watched a few more performances and called it a day.
Overall, it was a fun experience and I would definitely recommend that people check out the festival when it does happen. Not to mention, entry is free!
Yebehyia,
Su