It is fascinating how two cosmopolitan cities can show
vast differences, but they do not only show differences, there are similarities also. The differences are sometimes so great that they cut across the tiniest things you might notice, like how people greet each other, or their collective behavior while riding on a bus or streetcar. It does not take extraordinary talent to notice the differences between two cities in different parts of the world. I can write about this simply because I have spent substantial time in two large cities — in my hometown Accra (in Ghana) and at my current place of residence in Prague (in the Czech Republic).
As of this year, I have begun calling my hometown “The Millennium City” because a U.S.-based academic coalition known as the “Earth Institute” started its “Millennium City Initiative”, which focused on further developing Accra. Columbia University is the seat of the Earth Institute, and it has more than 800 experts in various fields whom have been advising and cooperating with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to improve the city. Prague went through enormous improvements over the last decade, and Accra is also going through such improvements. The similarities are that, both cities are cosmopolitan, so that you can see all nationalities on this earth at both places. The two cities also have a large population, with numbers above one million. They are renowned cities, and most people would love to be in either of these cities to see things for themselves. One is known as the Millennium City of Africa, and the other is referred to as the Heart of Europe.
In the Millennium City I do not have to put on the alarm clock to wake up because as early as 4 am my neighbours turn on their radios at a loud volume and listen to sermons from their favourite stations. Others who are not listening to this often play their favourite tunes, which are likely to be reggae, and sometimes a local musician plays such music live. I sometimes have a dose of both radio and my neighbours singing or chatting while they go about their very early morning chores. In the Millennium City, I lived in a family home and also lived in a compound house (a housing unit of more than ten rooms and ten different occupants), and the experience at both places is not different because the houses or the rooms are built very closely to each other respectively. Aside from the ubiquitous sound of radio in Accra, my neighbours sometimes call upon me early in the morning to join them in discussions or in morning religious devotions without any prior notice. I am often woken up by the loud noise from commercial drivers calling out for passengers. I hope you can now see, sense and feel the early morning in the Millennium City; the time of waking up is connected to my neighbour’s activities.
In the Heart of Europe’s city, the morning is quite different. Here in Prague, I have to put an alarm on so as to wake up on time. Sometimes the phone wakes me up earlier than the time I plan to, but apart from this, the morning is uninterrupted.
I suppose that my description of mornings in the Millennium City may sound nauseating because of so much interference from the neighbours, but that is not actually how it feels. Rather, Accra is a place where the community deems it a duty to care for each other and show concern for each other’s plight, so this close contact feels comfortable and reminds each that we are not all alone in our lives. In the Heart of Europe, the story is somewhat different; people are concerned with their own lives, and this seems more alone for each. Perhaps each family has closeness, but there is not a closeness within the community, and often next door neighbors are strangers who give each other a formal greeting when they meet in the hallway of their apartment buildings. If someone suddenly knocked on their door in the morning unannounced to say hello and chat, the visitor would seem quite odd. But in the Meliienium City, whenever I come out of my living quarters in the morning I must say “good morning” or “hello” to my co-tenants. When I set off for work, most of my neighbours and even people I see for the first on the street usually greet me with a smile just as also greet them; this is the community norm. But Prague is different. I have a few neighbours and they always seem not ready to greet me when they see me. I don’t think this is anything personal, they also do not acknowledge each other when they meet each other, so I think it is simply a cultural difference. When I first arrived in Prague from Accra, I tried to be friendly and say hello to others, but I could see from their reactions that they were not ready or in the mood to respond. I am not complaining or judging one city against another, but this was the first cultural shock that I experienced, though now I am used to it.
Another example of differences I quickly noticed between the two cities is the mass transportation systems. By looking at the bus or streetcar time schedule, I know when the next one will be arriving. The bus comes, waits for everyone to board, then it efficiently departs, so I can at least tell when I will arrive at my destination. The situation is quite different in the Millennium City. There, the bus arrival time is under no set schedule. It is not difficult to get a bus, but the bus will not depart until every seat in it is occupied. Then there is that ubiquitous sound of radio. Even on the buses in the Millennium City, the radios are always on, no choice, and the driver decides what everyone will listen to. Sometimes the driver is listening to his favourite radio discussion, or he plays music that he likes, and he sometimes decides to sing along with the stereo. Other passengers who are a fan of the music join in the singing. If you dislike what is going on, you have no option other than to wait patiently until you reach your destination. In the Heart of Europe, there is no stereo sound; rather, everyone is quiet so that if I close my eyes I wonder whether there are people on board. One can hardly turn and look into another person’s face as this would be considered an invasion of privacy, and everyone has a serious facial expression. In the Millennium City we easily strike up conversations or chat with the person sitting in the next seat, but in Prague if you open your mouth to speak you will be considered a nuisance. The societies are thus quite different, making life in these cities quite different. There are good and bad about both these cultures, so I cannot say I prize one way above the other. In fact, I love both cities, and it is an experience everyone should undergo.
