Cultural Correspondence class: Akwaaba! Welcome to Ghana

Cultural Correspondence Class: Akwaaba! An Intro to Ghana

Info About Me:

Nathaniel G. Myers, III

Sophomore (2nd year) at NC State University

Mechanical Engineering major; Entrepreneurship minor

From Andrews, South Carolina (that’s between Myrtle Beach and Charleston)

Exchange student at the University of Ghana

About Ghana:
Ghana is located in West Africa.

It was originally known as the Gold Coast because of all of the gold.

Capital City: Accra

Flag: It is red, yellow, and green with a black star in the middle. The red represents the blood and struggle of their ancestors while fighting for their independence. The yellow represents the gold the country contains. The green represents the land of the country, as many people are farmers in Ghana. The black star is a symbol of Pan-Africanism. This was a movement that involved people of color going to Africa back to their roots and showing great pride for their original homeland.

Togo borders to the east, the Ivory Coast to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south (it’s actually the Gulf of Guinea but that’s in the Atlantic Ocean).
Ghana is almost twice the size of North Carolina. It is about the same size as the United Kingdom and the state of Michigan.

President: John Atta Mills

Official Language: English (however they also speak a language native to them known as Twi)

Government: Democracy (just like America)

One cool fact: Because of how close Ghana is to the equator and the Greenwich Meridian Line (which is the up and down version of the equator), Ghana is considered geographically closer to the center of the Earth than any other country.
Ghana is five hours ahead of the eastern time zone in the US.

Economy: About 70% of the population are farmers, there are plenty of open markets where people are selling everything from food, to clothes, to shoes, cellphones, etc.

Food: Fried Rice, Jollof rice (which is kind of like a blend of dirty rice from Bojangles and rice with tomato soup flavor – at least that’s how it taste to me), chicken, sausage, okra, tomatoes, onions, zucchini, pineapple, apples, bananas, plantains, especially fried (my absolute favorite now, they are a cousin of the banana and look like really long green bananas. The very first time I tried them they tasted like a mix between a sweet banana and French fries), red red – which is red plantains, and black eye peas mixed in a red sauce, fufu (a type of starch food that looks like mash potatoes and is made from a root known as cassava).

My Encounters So Far:

Up to this point, I have gotten a good taste of culture life here in Ghana. They have mini vans called tro tros that take people from place to place around the city. There are hundreds of people along the sides of the street selling all sorts of items, and there are too many cars on the streets as it is hard to drive. The difference between the rich and poor is big. The rich communities are gated and have very nice homes. The poor homes are very dirty, and some are the size of shacks.

There is no hot water, so I take cold showers and I also have to hand-wash my clothes. I have hand-washed once already, and it was a great experience. After washing them I hang them out on a clothesline to dry in the sun.
Ghana is very hot, there are only two seasons here: hot and hotter (just joking). During the months of September to December is the wet season where it rains a lot. January to July is the dry season, called Hammaton (I am not sure if I spelled it correctly but that’s how it sounds).

At the university I have a Ghanaian roommate and I live with both Ghanaians and other international students from all over the world, including places like Norway, England, Canada, all across the United States, Asia, other countries in Africa, etc. One of my favorite classes is my African dance class (hopefully I will try to upload a video of me dancing at some point). We are learning a dance called Kpalongo (pronounced Pa-lon-go). It was started by the fishermen that live here in the city. It is based on them catching fish and twisting their nets.
Money: They call their dollar the cedi and instead of saying cents (such as 50 cents) they say pesawas. Just like we have a penny, nickel, dime, and quarter, they have a 5 pesawas coin, a 10 pesawas coin, a 20, and 50 pesawas coin. They also have a 1 cedi coin. All money in the US is green. Here their money is different colors. The 1 cedi (or $1 bill) is red, the 5 cedi is blue, the 10 cedi is green, the 20 cedi is purple, and the 50 cedi is brown.

Ghanaians are very nice and friendly people that enjoy helping others. They also love to play and watch soccer. Soccer is the most popular sport here, and boxing is the second most popular sport. I have gone to the beach and it is very nice. There were people there playing soccer, swimming in the water, and there were plenty of people selling all sorts of items. There was also a group of people dancing and playing the drums.