Known for its vast cocoa plantations and Black Stars football team, Ghana is also the country of kings, queens and princesses. Some of those princesses – like Princess Benido, a student in Vilnius, live among us and they are princesses not only in name. Princess Benido‘s mother is from Royal people in Ghana and she herself is a princess. However, Benido said she prizes education and knowledge more than titles. Her father values education for his daughters. Benido wants to make her own way in the world. She wants to be a computer programmer, live in Europe and is pursuing studies for a semester at MRU. She also has landed a job at a credit union in Vilnius.
-Why did you come to Vilnius?
- I am a student at the University of Ghana‘s Computer Science Department. I wanted to travel outside the country and to study abroad. I also wanted to see the country and hear how Lithuania sounds. There was an ad at the University for studies abroad. I responded by submitting my application under the Erasmus programme. I applied, despite the fact that the competition was stiff. There were several hundred students from my University that applied. I did not think I would be selected. However, my grades were very good and this may have helped.
-What did you find when you came here?
-I found a quiet and peaceful city. The streets of Vilnius are very clean. People don‘t litter or throw rubbish around. They put trash in dustbins. I also found that older Lithuanians are not used to speaking much English here in Vilnius. Many people are also reserved. However, people here have been very kind to me – Lithuanians are very friendly. I also applied for a job here at a credit union and I was hired. My co-workers treat me very well. My boss has even arranged that I have a desk where I can study, if need be.
-What are the differences between Accra and Vilnius?
-Vilnius is so clean. Also, it is quiet here and that is one of the reasons I like Lithuania. In Ghana, you hear music on the streets and loud sounds of people talking, shouting. Not here. Lithuanians obey traffic lights here and that surprises me. Africans have different views regarding traffic rules.
-You are a princess in Ghana. How does that impact your life?
-At my University, a large amount of the students come from royal families. It is not so unusual. Also, there are some people that ask about my name (Princess), but they do not know that it is also a title for me in Ghana, which is a tribal country. Practically, we don‘t pay tax. And, if one day I decide to marry, I will have to make a decision on whether I want to have a royal wedding. But first, I would like to complete my studies.
-What do you plan to do after you graduate with a Bachelor‘s Degree?
-I would like to pursue my Master‘s Degree perhaps at Mykolas Romeris University. Depending on where I get a full-time job – Europe or Ghana, that is where I will end up living.