Journal Entry 36: Whoa

There is a rap song that I like entitled “Whoa” where the artist lists a bunch of things that makes him say “Whoa”—I figured I’d do the same for the things in Ghana that make me say “Whoa”.

Dogs fighting: Every night at the same time the dogs would start fighting with each other and barking loudly.  It is a horrifying sound. They will start screaming, howling as if they were in pain and dying. One night, all the dogs were howling at the same time, howling and howling. Very, very scary.

Accepted internalized racism: People openly express ideas they have about inferior skin colors. I have also been told once (from a Ghanaian) that colonization helped Ghanaians because they didn't know what to do with their resources.

Toilets as holes in the ground: There have been a few times (including at villages and restaurants) where I or my friends have gone to use the bathroom to find a small dark room with a little whole in the ground. One time when I went to Labadi Beach, I wanted to use the bathroom (and it was night time) and it was just a little wooden wall with a whole in the ground behind it, covered by grass (and because it’s dark, it’s very hard to see what you’re aiming for or stepping on). I decided to wait until I got home…

Drains in the ground: There are many random gutters in the ground that people can easily fall into/get stuck in. One of my friends almost fell in one…not fun!

Interesting Customer Service: In the U.S., the customer gets priority. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been my experience in Ghana. People could care less about whether or not you’re happy with the service and tend to be a little on the stingy side with their money. To make things even more difficult, it’s hard to demand better service because unlike the U.S where you can say “let me see your boss” and get a quick response, there doesn’t seem to be a way to hold people accountable here, providing them with no incentive to provide better customer service.

Peeing: Men openly peeing on the side of a main road as the cars just fly by.

Trash cans: Only available on the campus--hard to find elsewhere.

Crazy drivers: The cars here will hit you if you let them—they go so fast and get SO close to you that you constantly have to look behind if you’re walking beside the sidewalk for whatever reason.

Line cutting: People randomly cutting lines (and not caring if you notice)

Street Vendors: People shoving stuff they want to sell in your face

Teachers: Teachers that randomly don't show up/cancel class and wonder why their students don't take the class seriously

Interesting habits: People picking their noses in public and guys constantly grabbing their crotches

Tro-tros: Tro-tros that are overpacked

Child Labor: Small kids working with their families on school days

Child sickness: Kids with a hernia 

Overcharging: People overcharging obronis and thinking it's okay

Pushing: People bumping into you/stepping on your feet and not caring

Goats, chickens, and lizards: My wonderful animal friends just walking around and living freely.

Religion: People asking me if I'm Christian, and automatically assuming I'm Muslim if I say no. 

No refunds: There are no such things as refunds because many people own their own businesses and it's very difficult to hold people accountable.

Breastfeeding: This may not necessarily be a Ghanaian thing (because sometimes you just don’t notice things when you’re home), but I noticed women tend to breastfeed in public places often here.

Billboards: The most interesting ones say things like "Repent, Jesus is coming soon" and "Retards Development" (of course the Abstinence Ads are always interesting as well)

Surprising Questions: Ghanaian’s asking me what part of Africa I’m from, and looking at me like I'm crazy when I say “I don’t know”.

Instability: Things can always change last minute, and there’s nothing you can do about it--you just have to go with the flow

Giving Directions: People don't seem to be very good at giving directions, so they'll often times just tell you to follow them to your location, or will point in an unclear direction and walk away.