Culture Shock

Like all international travel, there is bound to be some culture shock. To prepare for our trip we read several books and spoke with other people that had traveled to Ghana, but we have still encountered several cultural shocks that we think you will find to be humorous.

• Traffic – the traffic in Accra is unlike anything we have ever seen before. The average commute to work is 2 hours! Naturally, people try to beat the traffic, so people off-road on the shoulders of the road. It is really funny to see buses of people bouncing down the side of the road.
  
  
• Street vendors – Since people are stuck in traffic for so long, vendors sell various goods to people in their cars. You can buy apples, pillows, toothbrushes, toilet paper, and even puppies. You can get a lot of your weekly shopping done while in traffic!
  
  




• Store names – The Christian faith is very strong in Ghana and they use different Biblical sayings to name their stores and also on the back of their cars. Some of the names are hilarious, such as “Try Jesus Passport Photos” (there was a sign with a picture of Jesus in a passport) and “Lord, Remember Me When I am Dead Beauty Salon”.
  
  
• Eating with our hands - The main local dish is Fufu, a corn and casava paste, in a soup with meat (chicken, goat, fish). Traditionally, you eat it with your right hand, which takes practice - especially when the soup is really hot! We are still amateurs at this, but we are learning.
  
  


• Street signs – Only the main streets have names, but none of the streets have signs and roadmaps don’t exist. So when people give directions they use different markers, but if you are not from Accra then it is really hard to understand what they are talking about. One of our hosts received directions that were “Go to Tema, then go over 4 humps, take a right, a left and a left.” Invariably, we have to ask people on the street for directions, and it can take a while time to find someone’s house. Also, it is possible for roads to change overnight if someone decides to build a house in the middle of the road – yes, it happens!
  
  
• Things not working – We have learned that just because something exists doesn’t mean it works. You have to ask if it works. For instance, if a hotel says that it has AC, you should ask if the AC works. They may very well have an AC, but not necessarily a working one.
  
  
• Wrong number – People in Ghana are very friendly! There have been a few cases in which our host has received a wrong number phone call, but rather than hanging up the person on the line will ask our host how he is doing and engage in conversation.
  
  
• Animals everywhere - It is really common for people to let their goats, chickens and cows to graze in public space. We asked one of our hosts how people keep track of their animals and know which ones belong to them. He told us that some time people will mark the animals, but mostly people just know their animals.
  

While some cultural differences can be frustrating, they are mostly just funny. We have learned to roll with things and follow the lead of our host. When in Rome…