Days 1 & 2 : A lesson on Ghanaian Culture and Individuality

These first two days in Ghana have largely revolved around meeting new people (namely our hosts and the contractors we hope to work with) and slowly learning about the culture here. The first thing I noticed about the culture as a whole is that people generally seemed content (or atleast more content) than people in the States might be in conditions that might warrant irritation or unrest. These include things like heavy heat, crowded settings, stand-still traffic, situations where you might expect to see some people boiling-up in frustration and discomfort, yet a relatively calm attitude/demeanor accompanied my entire experience. This calmer attitude was prevalent even in things like decision-making. Where in the States I’ve become used to a culture of over-thinking decisions until you’ve created an imaginary bubble of stress, decisions seemed to happen more quickly and confidently there, a characteristic that might inform the speed at which many construction projects are conceived and completed with (also possibly informing the haphazard nature of many of the unsuccessful ones). This is not however to say that there is a lack of thoughtfulness.

Another major thing I noticed about the culture was the importance put on individuality. Notably first was my reception of a “Ghana name”. I was asked within hours of arriving in Ghana what day of the week I was born on, and after responding “Friday”, was then called “Kofi”. I came to learn that individuality and a persons name is such a fundamental tenant of the culture, that the culture won’t allow a person to exist without a name, and thus the “Ghana name” gives everyone a name from the moment of born, based on the day of their birth. Additionally, its considered rude, even to stranger, to demand someone’s attention by calling out “hey”, denying their individuality. Further, this tenant of the culture is one that is continuously attacked by the outside world. Nana spoke with us about her time in the UN, and how she was continuously frustrated and offended by the way fellow members of the UN generalized Africa as a whole, and largely painted the continent with a brush that emphasized the present but not certainly not dominant negative traits (corruption, poverty…etc.).

This, I’m sure, is the first of many lessons to come during this trip, and I welcome them with open arms.