Swayed Offcourse

”Getting swayed off course by the wind of distractions can really destroy dreams ”.

My hard work has finally paid off. Who knew I, Seyram would be walking on the campus of Harvard and call it my school. I pinched myself a number of times hoping I wasn just dreaming. No, it turned out to not be a dream.

I held my suitcase and dragged it along the hallway. My head kept moving left and right trying to find my room number C3 on the doors.

After several minutes of searching, finally C3 caught my attention. I opened the door and my eyes were greatly sore by the obscene scenery they were welcomed with.

There stood a couple getting comfortable enough to kiss in the middle of the room. God knows the adult movie I would have witnessed if I arrived later.

I cleared my throat trying to get them to realize my presence. At first they looked a little startled but after a few minutes, I saw annoyance crawling unto the ladies face.

Don you know how to knock, she spoke in a tone that signified her displeasure for my interruptions. Sorry that I disturbed… whatever was going on here but this is also my room so I would appreciate it if you respected me and kept all this out of my sight I will love it.

I expected her to get angry and fire at me but her stone cold face melted into a rather remorseful one. She whispered something into her boyfriends ear but was loud enough for me to hear. We would finish this later okay. After which he excused himself.

There was a moment of awkward silence in the room. We said absolutely nothing for sometime until she finally broke the silence lurking around us.

I am really sorry about what you just saw, I had no idea you would walk in unexpectedly. I accepted her apology and even apologized for also walking in without knocking which I admit was rude of me to do. I didn want to get into problems with anyone on my first day, not even my roommate. As my eyes scanned the medium sized bedroom I noticed that two bed were situated at two sides of the room.

My name is Rebecca but Becky is what I like to be called, she said while walking towards me. I am Seyram, I responded. She took some of my luggage and set them up by one of the beds in the room. Which country are you from? You don sound American, she sat on her bed while I moved towards my bed and fell on it. I am from Ghana.

West Africa right? she continued. I nodded in response. Welcome to Harvard, she added. I looked around the room and realized how big this place is. I lived in a bungalow back in Ghana, my room could be the size of an icecube as compared to this.

The bathroom and toilet is behind that door and the kitchen is right that way, she further pointed out the various places in the room. So what course are you offering? I started taking out the things in my suitcase and arranged them at my side to the room. Law and you?

Journalism, was my answer. After arranging my belongings at their respective places, Becky offered to show me around which I accepted. After showing me the dining, library, Harvard Art Museums, the conference rooms etc. Everything is in close proximity so its easy to move around. She took me to the Flour Bakery +Café were we ordered some smoked turkey sandwiches to eat. It was so tasty even though it was new to me because in Ghana our foods are entirely different though there are some foreign restaurants which serve these type of foods but they are not for broke people like me.

How are you enjoying the states so far? she asked with her mouth still packed with food. I really haven explored it much. Its a huge country so I can be everywhere but I will love to visit New York, Los Angeles, Hawaii and more.

Well, this is Boston and I be showing you around gradually but right now I assume you must be worn out from your trip and everything.

Hey… Uh Becky, I called out her attention as she was clearly enjoying her food. Which part of USA are you from? I questioned. She swallowed her food in her mouth before she attempted to speak. I am from Norman Oklahoma. I am in Boston for school sake, she explained. She then proceeded to ask me about Ghana and how it is. She even said she thought Africa was nothing but poverty but of course I showed her some cool pictures of some lovely places in my country.

Ghanaians are friendly people, we receive foreigners with open arms. Its a developing country so I can compare it to the USA but its a fun country. You should visit sometime, there is so much to see.

She seemed intrigued and urged me to tell her about the food. I am from the Ewe tribe in Ghana. My dad is from Keta which is a coastal town while my mom is from Angloga and we practice the Patrilineal system of inheritance so you can say that I hail from Keta. Even though I spent my life in the capital Accra. The food is really nice. I don want to bring Jollof before some Nigerians come and beat me… ,

She chuckled a bit before interjecting ,I have heard about the jollof wars between Ghana and Nigeria. In your opinion which is the best jollof?

I am Ghanaian, do you want me to stand with another?

We talked until we had consumed our delicacy. We went back to our hostel. Becky was on her phone while I sat on my bed just scrolling through social media. I could tell she was talking to her boyfriend because the kind of th