A: Good ______, How are you?
B: I'm fine.
The exception is What's Up (people respond "cool" which isn't really addressing the substance of the greeting – I dont know why either). To add some variety I change my intonation to mimic a boxing announcer with a nice GOOOOOOOOD MOOORRRRNINNNG!! Also, if I'm asked how I am, the monotony of 'fine' is too much, so I inject some personality into responses. Let's see:
How are you? I'm beautiful
How are you?
Also, this is the only place where "Yeah" and a wave of the hand is accepted as saying hello.
Today's post is about the US from the Ghanaian perspective. Much like when I was in Europe, many people only have movies and TV shows to tell them about daily life in the US. Except here in the village, where the US only occasionally shows up on the news. Also of note, the US is not the US; its either USA or America. I don't particularly like 'America' because it assumes the US is all of the Americas. Anyway, I was asked a bit ago about what my first language was. I tried to explain that it was English, but the person seemed to think that, much like Ghana, there is a tribal/local language and the national language.
Strange questions or other amusing things include:
*Ghanaian thought process: You have come to Ghana, so you can invite me to the US! The only real way to bring someone back personally [marraige] is not widely believed.
*Have I ever driven a car? (Yes, but people here rarely have a license to drive)
*I owned a car. (G: you mean you had a family car? M: My personal car. G: Why on Earth did you vanquish your family car??)
*What traditional beliefs are there in America? Witches, spirits ancestors? (All 3 are big beliefs here, coexisting with Christian beliefs in the same person; also of note is they read somewhere in print that someone believes in witches in the US, so everyone must believe in witches in the US)
*Where do you get your akpoteshi from? (apoteshi = moonshine)
*Does everyone own a gun? (people react with shock when I tell them I've fired a gun... then they ask 'Have you shot anyone?')
*How do you pound your fufu? (Widespread disbelief when I tell people my country does not have a lot of cassava, yams, plantains, palm trees, or cocoa; fufu is a local food where, contrary to all learned behaviors and Western expectation, you swallow unchewed food) Bonus fact: Instead of using a pizza to teach fractions to my students (dividing it into sections), I used a ball of fufu as an example.
*Do you have a farm in America?
I will say Accra, the capital, is quite different than the villages – akin to comparing NYC and small mountain town of 500 people.
There are a distinct class of locals that think money grows on trees in the US. I try to ask probing questions about who will provide them with funds to start a goat raising operation, and they respond 'The money is there; there are so many donors willing to donate freely'... IMO I dont think its true.
Unfortunately, there is about .5% of the population that either doesn't like foreigners and/or think every white person has a personal printing press of Ghana cedis (local currency) stored in their pockets. These are the people that try and help you for free, then demand 5 cedis after they help you... perhaps they assume that in your civic pride you will feel guilty for not giving them money. I just walk away.
Favorite tidbit from wikipedia on the Coliseum:
Pope Sixtus V (1585–1590) planned to turn the building into a wool factory to provide employment for Rome's prostitutes, though this proposal fell through with his premature death.
Parting Remarks: Sorry about not posting in a while, I've just been enjoying my town quite a bit. Some friends recently uprooted several palm trees (eg. Palm Wine) specifically for me!! I am pumped, especially because my birthday will be coming up soon. To celebrate, we will dine with a certain animal's meat; it may or may not have been a pet at one time.
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