ABSTRACT
As a White American woman living and traveling in Ghana, your motivations are constantly questioned. Sometimes this is a casual and friendly questioning, not much more than a conversation starter: “So, what are you doing in Ghana?” Other times, depending on who’s asking, the same question is saturated with varying degrees of suspicion, even accusation. There are those who are thrilled, perhaps overly so, at your presence and those who would prefer to do without it. Regardless, this simple question – “Why are you here?” – became one that would haunt me during my two separate experiences in Ghana and well beyond them.
