Culture Quirks

It’s difficult to imagine someone who, having never been to Africa, walks off the plane in Accra and isn’t in immediate culture shock. I’ve always hated that term, actually. “Shock” is a little extreme. Let’s call it “culture confusion.” Anyway, the point being anyone would be forced to internally and externally confront the extreme differences in culture within minutes. Besides much of the environment being foreign (eg. clothing, buildings, food), people are interacting with each other in a visibly different way. And that’s just what you are able to notice quickly in the heart of a capital city that has already been heavily influenced by “The West.”

What my blog today is about are the things you may not immediately notice about Ghanaian culture if you were to visit. The things that it took deliberate training by the Peace Corps staff and first-hand experience to realize. The elements of the culture that would almost seem the same or be completely unnoticeable until you took a deeper look. The culture quirks.

Using your right hand: Traditionally in Ghana, before proper sanitation practices were known and easily available, your left hand was your wiping hand. You wiped with your left hand and did everything else with your right (especially when interacting with other people) to avoid spreading disease. If you did anything with your left hand, including non-contact things like waving, it was considered insulting or worse. While the stigma of using your left hand isn’t as important as I’m told it once was, if you look carefully you’ll see that people still make a concentrated effort to always use their right hand when interacting with you.

Friendship: You know that guy at the bar who goes up to a beautiful girl and says “Can I have your number,” and she responds with some form of, “Why, you barely know me?” A Ghanaian likely wouldn’t respond that way because this is a completely natural way to start a platonic friendship in Ghana. I routinely get asked for my phone number by men and women, with the intention of them building the friendship through brief phone calls and text messages. This is obviously not how all friendships in Ghana are made, but it highlights a quirky cultural difference of what is deemed appropriate behavior and what isn’t.

Dating: For multiple reasons, I’m not interested in dating a Ghanaian, so I don’t have direct experience with this. But from training and stories from other PCVs, I understand it to some degree. It usually starts with the exchanging of gifts or favors. A man might buy a woman beads and the woman might wash his laundry. This might go on for months or even years before they agree to formally date because once two people begin dating it is assumed that they plan to get married. That’s not to say people don’t engage in casual sex or the like - in fact, teenage pregnancy is a huge issue here - but the traditional means of courtship strictly look down upon that behavior. Same sex relationships are also not only looked down upon, but illegal. (Note: Tinder HAS made its way to Ghana)

PDA (Public Displays of Affection): You will almost never see a man and a woman interacting affectionately with one another in any context anywhere in the country. It doesn’t matter if they are friends, dating seriously or even married. I once saw a man and woman holding hands in Kumasi – the second largest city in Ghana – and it stopped me dead in my tracks I was so stunned. How two people are able to escalate from this lack of contact to private intimacy is a mystery that confounds me nearly every day. The especially interesting thing about this is that many forms of contact within the sex, whether male or female, is completely appropriate including holding hands and even grinding on one another at a bar or club. The first time I was dancing and man started grinding on me, the term “culture shock” was truly appropriate.

Personal Space: The differences in personal space aren’t as extreme as I’ve seen in other cultures. But they definitely have a less liberal view of the importance of this than in the states. A good example is when they want to lead you somewhere. Instead of telling you to follow them, they will grab your wrist without permission and just start walking expecting you to follow. The natural and understandable reaction as an American is to reflexively interpret this as rude and immediately pull your wrist away, but this would confuse the Ghanaian who is only trying to help you. Your house and/or bedroom can also be a place they don’t understand is restricted without permission. This is especially the case with children and many volunteers whose home is located in a very public place have serious problems with this.

Eating Habits: Virtually every traditional Ghanaian meal is eaten with your hands … well, hand (singular). And it’s usually eaten from a single bowl by the whole family. It’s also common for the family to call out, “You are invited,” to anyone passing by. Usually the first invitation isn’t meant to be taken seriously and is simply polite. But once you thank them for their offer and they say it again or insist, it is meant as a genuine invitation. Also, don't smell the food because while that is a sign of enjoyment in our culture, in Ghana it is taken to mean that you're smelling it to test for poison/disease.

Elder Authority: Elders opinions and decisions are considered supreme to any others. Children are taught to listen and respect their elders and disobeying without consequence is unheard of. This has its advantages and disadvantages to culture and development, but my intention here is to simply state the reality of the culture as I have experienced it. Here's a funny anecdote that speaks to the role of age in the interpretation of decision making. While I generally try to avoid conversations with Ghanaians about American politics, I once had a man who asked me who was older between Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump as the basis for who he supported.

Waking/Sleeping Hours: Think about the following facts: Ghana is so close to the equator that any difference in sunrise/sunset times is negligible so the sun rises around 6:30 am and sets around 6:30 pm every day. Because it’s so close the equator, it gets really hot during the day, even during the cooler seasons. Electricity is not universal and still new in many villages. When you consider all of these things, it’s not surprising that Ghanaians typically wake up very early and

There are many other aspects of the culture differences I hope to cover in future blog posts, including fashion, food and funerals, but I hope this post gives an insight into how living with the small things can add up quickly and create a completely unique culture.