My Travel Work Life: Ghana Edition 🇬🇭

You might know me for my adventurous travels and being on the road has been a lifestyle choice now. It's a choice I'm confident in but one that I have committed to sticking to. And although traveling is fun and fulfilling, it's also a testing challenge. Lucky for me, my remote work occasionally calls me to travel. I love my job because it allows me to engage my mind to do some thinking while also allowing me to express my creative side. I wanted to share what it is like to work while traveling. And even though it is always a different experience, I wanted the next work trip to give you all an idea. This week we are heading to Ghana. I'm very excited to see what Accra is like. Even though this is strictly a work trip, I plan to make the most out of it by spending time with the people and treating myself to a local experience. I contacted a really good friend of mine so he could receive me from the airport and show me around. We are headed to the Gold Coast. Let's go see Ghana. The flight from Addis to Accra was only five hours and I landed with some time to spare. I was so lucky to have one of my coolest friends, Kofi, whom I met through work, pick me up from the airport. After resting in the afternoon, I went to the nearest mall to grab something to eat. It was very vibrant and had all the Christmas feel. It was sad being away from home during the holiday season so I decided to go to bed early to rest for the intense week ahead. I woke up on the first work day of the week and it's such a great feeling knowing that you're somewhere new. I can feel just how different the atmosphere is but I still have so much exploring ahead of me. Mornings in Ghana are very calming and peaceful. I headed to the venue where our event was being hosted and checked if everything was in order for the big night ahead. I was surprised by the heat and pampered by the people. No, really everyone I have encountered so far has been so nice to me. Later on, I returned to my hotel and got ready for the event. Just got ready for the night. As you guys know, I'm here for a work event. Spotify and my workplace, they're hosting an event together and I am going to be doing all the photography and videography for the night and we are ready to go. My boss is picking me up to go to this event. I cannot wait. The night went really smoothly and I enjoyed my day as busy as it was. Such a beautiful morning in Accra. I'm really, really blessed to wake up in here. My friend is actually coming. We are going to one of the biggest markets in West Africa. I cannot wait to see the local scene, to immerse myself in the local culture, eat some good food. Also, I think we're going to go check out some art, art galleries and see the creative scene in Accra. I'm very excited for the day. We shall see how that goes. I really enjoy working and pushing myself. However, I also like to take a day off to completely disconnect from my responsibilities at work and have some me time. Today is one of those days. It's my day off and I have so much planned, among which was a guilt-free shopping spree. I need to grab coffee first and some good breakfast and we're good to go. Look who's here. What's up? I'm good. We are currently in one of the biggest markets in Accra and it's going to be a great day. A lot of chaos, a lot of chaos, but it's going to be a great day. I brought a lot of colorful fabrics and West African prints for decorating my new home. We got to see so many creative and artisan crafts, which really inspired me. I was still blown away by the welcoming hospitality out here, really. People were helping me with my stuff and looking after me the whole time. I had a great first-hand experience of what a daily life was like in Accra since I avoided the tourist traps and decided to immerse myself in the local scene. My new friends gave me a Ghanaian name based on the day I was born on. I'm no longer Nishan. Call me Ajwa. Birth naming is actually a thing here, apparently, but I appreciate just how friendly and open they were. It's so nice, sorry. It's a lot of food. It's so soft. First time in Ghana. I love it. You guys are so nice. Why are you guys so nice? We love each other. Nice. We play wherever we are. You need lessons. This is called kushka, the first Ghanaian instrument. You live here? Do you live here? No, I don't live here. Okay, nice. Is this your sculpture shop? Yes. Oh, I love it. These are the rings, the cymbals. This is sankofa. Oh, the sankofa. We have three types of sankofa. We have the paired one, and the cymbal one. I know the paired one. Have you watched the movie Sankofa? Ghanaian movie. No, it is a Ghanaian movie, but it was made by an Ethiopian director. Oh, yeah. This is a symbol of unity. Yeah, it looks good. Yeah. I don't like buying something I wouldn't wear. Sanitation. Symbol of sanitation, cleanliness, and beauty. So, she has to take that one because she's beautiful too. Ghana is freedom. When are you coming to Ethiopia? Yeah, you guys are all invited. What is Ghana known for? Bigger lands. What is Ghana known for? What is that? It's a sauce. Very spicy. No, I'm talking about like athletics-wise. Are you guys related? Yeah, we are family. One thing I realized when I came to Ghana, starting from the airport, everyone was nice. And I've been to Senegal, Ivory Coast, and I think I like Ghana better. Spent all our money in Ghana. Look at you carrying all my souvenirs. Thank you. Thank you so much. I had a great day, and it was time to return to my hotel with all my new stuff and unforgettable memories. I'm enjoying my time so much here. I needed this trip so bad, and my team also needed me. It is so cool to work and rest on the go. I can say I perform better this way. Okay, that was quite a nice nap. I had a long day of Ghana places. Now, I have to work for the next six hours. I'm gonna be representing OK Africa at AfroNation, so I gotta look nice. I gotta be on my best game. Gotta cover all socials happening at the event, so let's get ready. The big music event AfroNation is taking place here for two days. Since the events were at night, both days started slow for me. As I was getting ready for the big event at AfroNation, I also had to prepare myself mentally to stand long hours covering this event. Which earring? This? I don't know if you guys can see. Wear this. Can't decide. Decide to wear this earring. It's a symbol of beauty and serenity. And the guy from the shop said it fits me well, so I'm gonna rock it all day. Let's go and work. So, I went shopping today and these two guys are helping me with all my stuff. Getting me a taxi. They don't even know me. Ghanaians are so, so, so, so, so nice. I wanna cry right now. Wanna say anything about Ethiopia? About me? About Iraq? Introduce yourself. Say something about And how did we meet? I think she asked me if I was wearing a card. Because you're wearing it. Yeah, because of the red. How are you guys helping me? You don't even know me. Thank you, guys. Thank you. So nice, guys. Thanks. I'm gonna show this to my dad. Bye, guys. I'll see you guys next time when I'm in Ghana. Bye. Hello. I just got back from a long day of shopping, so I wanted a lot of Ghana souvenirs. I love all these traditional fabrics, so I got two bags of that. It was a second day of shopping, but it was good. All those fabrics, I don't know where they'll fit, so I bought a big luggage. I think this is the first time ever that I've shopped this much on a trip, and I don't really shop. But half of the stuff, I would say not even half, but 70% of the stuff is for my parents and my family. All of my fabrics can go in that luggage. Nothing like a shower after a long day. Ghana was growing on me. The streets were so vibrant and mesmerizing. People have captured my heart, and the sunsets were to die for. Time was flying so fast, and the week was almost over in a blink. We are ready to go work for six hours. Night is young. Back from work. This night was actually pretty fun and new to me. It turned out to be a successful coverage, and even though it was a busy couple of days, my duty in Ghana was done. Good night sleep. My last day here concludes the trip, and I decided to kick back and spend the day by the beach. I had enough time to rewind and reflect on my own following some hectic nights. It's a very nice afternoon. I feel like sleeping because I've been going around the market and visiting the city, but I think I would love to catch the sunset at the beach, so that's what we're going to do. No, seriously speaking though, I'm really, really sleepy, but I need to get myself up because I think this is my chance for Ankara. I can't sleep in Ankara. I can motivate myself and go. I can't wait to catch the sunset. Waiting for my Uber, trying to go to the beach. There's so many beaches I can't even decide where to go, but yeah, Ubers in Ghana are very cheap by the way. Like a 30-minute trip would be like 15 Ghanaian money, so it's really nice. My time in Ghana was so authentic. I love it when fun isn't so structured and touristy. How is this real? Only in Ghana, where I saw horses by the beach, it was such a beautiful sight with white sand and lukewarm blue water. It was so hot with clear skies until the end of the day where I saw the most beautiful sunset. It was one of the most golden sunsets I've ever seen. It was like right here. I know camera doesn't do it justice, but it was right here. I can't believe I'm in West Africa. It's surreal. Sometimes when I travel to these places, I'm always like asking myself, am I really here? Did I just wake up in Ghana? It's just crazy. One thing I've noticed is like in every country that I visit, the scene is just so different. Anything you look at is different from what you're used to. For example, there you go right in front of me. It's just so much inspiration. Let me pause this and take a photo of her. I'll be back. Okay, I'm back. Anyway, I was saying it's like when I visit a new country, it's like I'm more inspired to do more because like anything that you're seeing around you, it's so different. I just love Africa. First of all, so many personalities, so many new cultures, so many new traditions, food, flavor, language, people, personality, like everything. Oh, speaking of personality, Ghanaians. Oh my gosh. Oh my God. Ghana blew me away. Starting from the airport up to like this point, they're so nice. I was like in the market earlier and I was talking to this guy and he was like, we're known for hospitality. Like we're very nice anywhere we go. People love us and I'm like, yep. I've been to a lot of countries in Africa and I think nothing like Ghana so far. We'll see. We'll see the rest of the countries. That boat looks so good. Let me turn it around. Damn. Everything I'm seeing today is just inspiring me. I don't know why it's not focusing. Anyway, it's getting dark. I want to relax for a bit, meditate, journal, connect with mother earth. It's beautiful beach. Sun is setting. Let me take some time for myself and we'll be back. I felt so grateful and blessed to be healthy and active, doing what I love and seeing the world along the way. Ghana was honestly beyond my expectations. It's been a really nice but very hectic week for me. Traveling and working seems all nice until you're running around from airport to airport. But this time I actually love the people. I love the country. I love the food. The weather is very warm. It's really good for my skin. This time I got to visit the country was only like work, work, work, work the whole week. So I'm really, really happy about this trip. I was actually just in Senegal like a month ago and I think I love Ghana better and I can't wait to see if I love the next country more than Ghana. Africa can surprise me. So yeah, this is the work travel life and I hope you guys enjoy this. If you're ever traveling for work, make sure to take at least a day to immerse yourself in the local scene to get a feel of what the place and the people are really like. Ghanaians will forever remain in my heart. I'll definitely go back because I have made many friends along the way. Thank you so much for watching till the end. I hope you guys got something positive from this video. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment sections and see you guys next week with a brand new video.