Ghana Day 11 032312 I Didn't mean that.

Ghana Day 11, 032312, I didn't mean that

The third thing that can really distance us white people from our local friends is our unpreparedness and ignorance about the norms of this culture. Everything in Ghana, or in any society, works smoothly because there are a set of underlying social expectations and assumptions that everyone has in common. In the US, we walk and drive on the right; in the UK, the left prevails. I can't tell you how many people I smashed into in London when I bounded down the right side of a crowded subway staircase into “incoming traffic” who had other expectations.

The social norms in Ghana, however, have some tribal roots, that are largely unfamiliar to Western visitors. I downloaded a sort of “Cliffs Notes of Western faux pas” that I found myself re-reading over and over to try to comprehend what they were even describing. I discussed one of these social issues previously, the expectation and courtesy of greeting everyone that you meet. Even if you are in a hurry. Even if they are at a different station of life than you, or are in a service role. Everyone gets the courtesy of your time and your smile. Not to do so would offend. Asking help from someone who was initially socially dismissed is doubly rude.

From deep tribal custom, the left hand is considered unclean. There are no left-handed people, left handed scissors or left handed bass guitars here. Everything is done with the right hand – greeting gesturing and eating. Using the left hand to summon someone is the equivalent of giving them the finger. This is a culture that eats some foods with their hands, the local equivalent of finger foods. Using one's left hand to eat shared food is the equivalent of a waiter sneezing on your food as he/she presents it. End of sharing. Things are passed or handed right hand to right. The next time you are passing the ketchup at your dinner table, have a glance at which hand yoou are using. It is not something that we are even conscious of. For our ambidextrous society in the US, it is most difficult to make the shift to right-handed ness. The easiest thing is often just to sit on your left hand to immobilize it so as not to offend.

It is best to also lose your dependence on time and timeliness here. I mentioned earlier that greetings take precedent over promptness and that scheduled transit vehicles leave when they are full, not by the clock. We did once leave on a bus trip on a coach bus that ran on a schedule, but that is rare. Air conditioning and spacious reclining seats, even rarer. Anyway, the 6:00am bus left at 6:15.

As important as greetings are, the expected response to Wo ho te sen (How are you?) is Me ho ye ( I am fine). Greetings are culturally important, but this is not a time to talk about your upcoming colonoscopy or your chronic acid reflux condition. You are fine. The world is fine, and all is well, end of story. Save the whining and details for your doctor or your diary.

A little local language from the tourist goes a long way toward neutralizing the rich American stereotype and inviting the local people to possibly open up to considering you to be a fellow human instead of a walking wallet. Just the simple word Midaase (thank you), like they promised us in kindergarten, helps to break the curse. Some one once told me that the most money-per-hour that you will ever earn in your life, are the few minutes that you spend negotiating up your starting salary for a new job. In the same vein, probably the most valuable phrase that you could learn in Ghana would be Te so (reduce it), in the marketplace. Those two short words will save you a quick 60% on everything, and they quickly communicate in the native tongue to change your focus from my wallet to my eyes. 

We are constantly learning, and learning that the familiar ways of our own culture don't always apply elsewhere.  But, that is perfectly alright.  Different isn't necessarily bad