Hey everyone!
I’m down to my last week in Ghana before heading to Togo on Saturday. I have really enjoyed my time here. I love the ministry we’ve been doing, and a lot of other things like the food or being able to see mountains from where we are staying and where we’ve gone on our adventure days. I wanted to share in this blog some of the culture we have experienced while being here in Ghana.
Auntie Jessica
In school instead of being called Miss, Ms., or Mrs., we are called “Auntie”. So I’ve been Auntie Jessica for the past month. Even when we are out of school, if we see our students anywhere, they will call out, “Auntie!”. One of our hosts is the principal of the school we are helping in this month and she said she wanted the teachers to be called auntie to be like a second mom to the kids.
Drinking Water from Bags
We have mostly been drinking water from little plastic bags. You just bite one of the corners off and start drinking. It’s actually pretty rare to see anyone drinking water from a bottle.
We have also consumed ice cream and yogurt from bags. A guy will usually pass by the house after school on a bike with a cooler in the back with the ice cream and yogurt that costs 1 cedi (about 20 cents). He‘ll honk his horn as he passes by and if any of us hears it they may run out the house yelling “ice cream man!”
English but Different
I enjoyed practicing French last month, but it was great to take a break from the mental strain of speaking a language I’m nowhere near fluent in and be able to speak English for the month. Most people in Ghana speak English and at least one local language. The language for this area is called Twi.
Because our accents are different, sometimes we have to repeat ourselves to each other to understand what the other is saying. Other times though, the words they use are actually different than what Americans normally use. Examples:
Toffee = lollipop
Rubbish = trash (I’ve heard rubbish before but don’t personally use it)
Rubbers = plastic bag
Duster – whiteboard eraser
I invite you = would you like to have some of this food I am eating (that one took a bit to figure out lol)
Food We’ve Tried:
This month our hosts cooked for us, and we usually eat lunch at the school, so it’ll be whatever is also served to the kids. We have had such great food here. A lot of food here is made out of cassava, yams, and plantains, and we have had a lot of fish and chicken (omigosh meat! Last month we had meat like twice). Some Ghanaian food we’ve eaten includes fufu, banku, peanut soup, egg stew, and yam chips. And the mangoes and pineapples are so. Good.
Tro tros
These are basically 20 passenger vans (I haven’t actually counted but it has to be at least 20) that run the same routes like a bus does. They are pretty cheap (we travel to the mall that’s like an hour away for less than two dollars per person round trip). There’s always a guy calling out the final destination and often times he will hang out of the door as he is yelling.
Hallelujah, Amen
This was in Côte D’Ivoire as well. In church, if someone says Hallelujah and wants a response, I feel like I would probably have just repeated back Hallelujah. But the correct response is amen. Also, the correct response to Praise the Lord is Hallelujah.
Don’t Use Your Left Hand
It is disrespectful to use your left hand to give, receive, wave, or basically anything that involves another person. This is even in children’s textbooks. People will generally not accept things if you hand it to them with your left hand. I’ve become very conscious of what hand I use and basically I try to avoid using my left hand for anything.
Religiously Themed Store Names
Let me just give you examples:
Try Jesus Multimedia
Christ in “U” Barbering Salon
Jesus the Bread of Life (guess what is sold there lol)
God Loves Me Interior Deco
God With Us Power Tools
God’s Time is the Best Key Cutting Services
The Lord is One Beauty Salon
Oburoni
This is what we are called by kids in the street or basically anyone living here. It doesn’t exactly mean “white” but rather someone with lighter skin or foreigners. It amuses people greatly to call that out to us in passing. Actually more accurate for me as compared to Côte D’Ivoire where I was called “le blanche”
High School Graduation
Apparently having the actual graduation ceremony isn’t really a thing in Ghana. We had the privilege of attending one of these rare events since ours hosts’ daughter graduated. She was one of a class of four.
The Ghanaian Handshake
There is a special handshake among Ghanaians. You shake hands like normal, but when you normally release, instead you slide the middle finger down and snap each other’s middle finger. That takes a bit of practice.
So, those are some things that I’ve learned about Ghana! I think I’m really going to miss it and the people I’ve met here. Still, I am excited to see what Togo is going to be like.
Jessica
