Ghana

Basic things like you greet from the right to the left. You're gonna learn what that means So if you shake hands with someone you start at the right The head of the house is always you know The person in charge whether it's the woman or the man or if it's the man It's the the man is typically the head of the house go in there with like Obviously, it's a third world country and it's Try to have a positive attitude The infrastructure is not very good They're very clean inside the house, but outside the house like on the streets, it's not very clean So just try to keep positive attitude and don't like try to mention how it's dirty or you know, keep it positive light

As a white person, they're gonna look at you and they're gonna think you are just like full of money. And while that we all know that to be a misconception, it's pretty rooted there. And so if people look at you weird, start making certain comments about it, like, just understand that they don't fully understand our culture and all the ins and outs. They only really see what we have and what is shown on the media. But the thing about when they feed you is they already don't have much, but they're willing to give everything that they have because they're just that loving and kind of a people. But one of the worst like ways of disrespect that you can show to somebody else is when you don't finish the food. Okay, you need to come and prepare for every meal that might be given with like the fullest of appetites. And just be able to stretch that stomach because as you'll come to find and as you love the people, you'll see that not finishing your food. It's a really big no no.

It's considered very rude if you don't greet people when you walk by. So when you're walking by people in the street, if it's before noon, greet them good morning. 12 to 4, greet them good afternoon. If it's after 4, greet them good evening. Also, when you're waving to someone, either with your right hand, both hands, either with your right hand or both hands, never with just your left hand.

One of the biggest things that you'll notice that's different in Ghana versus here in the U.S. where I'm from is the Ghanaian people greet everyone that they meet on the street. They'll say, oh good morning, good afternoon, how are you today, and we don't really do that here. So when I first got there, everyone greeting each other like they were have known each other for a long time. It was pretty interesting because sometimes they'll you ask that to someone here in the U.S. and they'll look at you funny and be like thinking, do I know you? And they're your family to them. They love to have you there. They love to talk to you. They just want to make sure that you feel welcome because they're very hospitable people. And as you greet them, as you go around as well and put a smile on your face, that's one way you can win the hearts of the people of Ghana.

One of the biggest culture tips is to never use your left hand for anything, whether that's waving or shaking hands or giving money. Always use your right hand. It's much more nice to do that. People accept that more than your left hand for cultural reasons. When you enter a room, you should always greet people from right to left. Again, it's just another culture thing. With eating, always follow the hostess and how they eat, or your companion who has been there longer, who knows the culture, follow their lead in doing that. Ghana is a very culturally proud country, and so they want the people who visit them, who live with them, to obey those cultural laws of eating, of their language, and of your mannerisms. So if you stick to that, you will be loved by people there.

Be very respectful of things that you don't understand. Basically what I'm saying is to ask questions before you make a judgment. A lot of things are different in African culture and they try to adopt westernized culture. So, ask questions before you react to the things that you see and hear.

So this actually only applies to you if you're white. But if you are white, they will call you obruni, and you are either one of their favorite people or their least favorite people. So something you need to know is that they expect all white people to have a lot of money. So they're going to give you what we call obruni price, and what it is is they're going to charge you a lot more money than anything is worth. So one of the things you should figure out as soon as you get down there is how much things cost.

One of the biggest things in Ghana when you get there is that they don't use their left hand for like anything. So when you wave at somebody, like you never wave with your left hand, only your right hand. When you shake somebody's hand, only with your right hand. Like the left hand is just considered to be dirty because I guess when they go to the bathroom they use their left hand only. And so it's just very offensive. So that's the first thing that comes to my mind like a cultural tip is just get in the habit of waving with your right hand, shaking with your right hand. The waving one definitely threw me off because I feel like in America it could be either hand, what's up? But definitely in Ghana, only the right.

Every social interaction will be much different and it follows a lot of different rules from what you would normally have in the U.S. In Ghana, it can be rude to say hey to someone, but a hello is fine. It's rude to use your left hand in any social meeting, but your right hand or both hands together is fine. You talk to everyone, you greet everyone, you're friendly to everyone, and if you're not, the people will be concerned that you're not friendly or you're not nice. It's a great culture, very friendly, very happy, very kind.

Two culture tips that I can give is, the first one would be to learn their language, which is tree. And they really love it if you try to speak their language with them, at least at first. The second culture tip I could give is that in Ghana, they greet everyone. If you're a stranger, no matter who you are, if you pass them on the street, they're expecting you to say hi, and they're going to say hi back. And so just get in the habit of saying hi to literally everyone that you pass on the street, because that's how they are in Ghana.