On the US elections in Africa

I have really missed being home during the elections. I have felt uninformed and it was sad to not be able to stay up and watch the results come in (not because they weren’t broadcasted here but because sleep from the hours of 10-4 is so essential to my mental stability) However, it has also been absolutely amazing to be in Africa for such a historic election. From the “Ghana for Obama” T-shirts to the Barak Obama song that I hear playing on the radio everyday (variations and new versions of this played for two hours straight the day after the elections) people are fired up about Obama. Some of it is just hype – they are excited that a black man, particularly one who’s father is African can become president of the United States. The local news station always says, “but, what will Obama do for Africa? This is what many African’s want to know.” Then the BBC started covering the reporters camping out in front of Obama’s grandmother’s house in Kenya. But in many ways it is deeper than that. One man texted into the radio station saying that Obama has shown him that he should have hope, that he (the man texting ) really can do anything, he is not limited anymore by his nationality nor his color.
It was also impressive to hear the local news stations discussing the amiable references to each other that Obama and Mcain had in their post-election speeches. The news station was suggesting that it was a great example to Ghana whose elections are Dec. 7th. So, I feel bad for the young man who expressed his excitement and certainty that Obama would soon extend an invitation to all Africans to come to the United States, but I do feel very excited myself to see the international, and particularly African, community so supportive of our new president.