Arrival of New Group

I went to down to Accra (capital of Ghana) this week to get some things taken care of as well as to greet the new trainees when they arrived at the airport. When they arrived we threw sachets filled with gin and brandy as they walked out of the terminal. They drank them, it was fun times...

When we were leaving we caught a taxi in an area that we were not supposed to. Four of my friends got in and as I was trying to get in the taxi driver drove off. I turned around and saw that a cop was chasing the cab with a boot and an AK-47. I was going to just catch another cab with the next group of people leaving, but they left the door open and yelled at me to hurry up. So essentially it turned out to be me wearing a 30lb backpack being chased by a police officer wielding an AK-47 and a boot to put on the taxi. When I finally got in the other taxi drivers in the area started honking their horns and clapping. I got chased by a cop holding an AK-47 in front of the new group of Peace Corps people that just showed up. Fun times, and welcome to Ghana...

How To Be Ghanaian

My friend here in Ghana (non-Ghanaian) posted this entry in his blog I decided to steal it and use it as a post on mine. Enjoy


When you hear drums, dance.

If you see someone walking somewhere, ask them where they are going.

Don’t bother to learn any English vocabulary, instead just say “disting” (this thing) in place of any word you don’t know. Don’t learn names either, Sister and Brother are good enough, if all else fails everyone in Ghana will respond to Charlie; for best results pronounce it: “Chaa-lee.”

If you have a car, please break all in-dash gauges; knowledge of your speed, fuel level, and RPMs, is completely unacceptable. And there is a minimum of 6 stickers to be placed on the windscreen. If your “check engine” light comes on; by all means do not check the engine.

While driving, honk your horn as much as possible.

If you happen to have a job, quit it and sleep all day. Better yet, keep your job and sleep all day. If it rains, great!, take the day off. If you do not feel like working, just stay home. No call, no show? No problem.

The first thing you must do after purchasing a stereo system is to make sure you blow out all of the speakers, un-ripped cones are not acceptable. After that step is finished, please feel free to blast your distorted music at any volume you choose at any hour of the day/night.

When you see a non-Ghanaian you must yell “white man” at them in preferred dialect (“white men” includes: white people, Asians, Middle Easterners, African Americans, and Hispanics). When they turn to look you have two choices: pretend you said nothing, or ask them where they are going.

Expect all “white men” to be fluent in your local dialect. Weather it be a national dialect such as Twi, or a regional one which only 2,000 people in the world speak (Tafi), somehow that “white man” should speak it

In the case of a verbal argument the party who can yell at the other loudest, wins.

When a family member dies you must invite the entire town to the funeral. At said funeral you will have screen printed t-shirts of the deceased commemorating the event on sale to the public, and there will be 6-10 hours of drumming and dancing minimum. If, after the dancing, you have any energy left, make sure you involve yourself in fisticuffs with a fellow mourner.

When you are drunk and happen to see a non-Ghanaian, you have to talk to them. Topics include: how great Ghana is, how great Essien is, ect.

Love the following things:
Soccer, Essien, Drogba, Chelsea Football Club, Westlife, 4 hr church services, Hip-Life, advertising jingles, drumming and dancing, and asking where people are going.

I've probably missed stuff, but its a start anyways.