I moved to Ghana in December 2009 for a three year stay. I have found the country to be fascinating, and truly enjoyed learning about the people and customs. The pages below include comments and observations made on this exciting new adventure. They are also listed on kittivisianlife.com. Enjoy and comment.
I was at the children’s school waiting patiently outside of the administrative offices … ok, not so patiently, but anyway, I was waiting to get a form signed and stamped. A caucasian lady came in towing a small boy. She looked around her at the many closed doors. She approached me.
I belong to a spouses group in Ghana that has committed to assist a very poor school in Accra by outfitting them with new desks and chairs. I ended up with the task of accompanying the carpenter to purchase the lumber necessary to build the furniture. It was quite an adventure, so the next time …
It has been a while, I know, I hope I was missed. I spent the entire summer vacation in my beloved Caribbean, but I am back in Ghana and I already have many tales to tell. We arrived in Ghana late at night. It was one of those bitter sweet moments. We were sad to …
When we arrived in Ghana, we noticed that many of the young Ghanaian girls wore their hair in very short afros. My son teased my daughter mercilessly with the idea that she would have to cut off her hair in order to attend school. I, on the other hand, am fascinated by the practice. Short …
I caught this one while travelling down a major road in Accra. Don’t get the impression that the main streets of Accra are crowded with stray chickens and goats, not at all, so this was a particularly interesting sight. The goats on top of the bus are not tethered or roped in.
Ghanaians celebrate the end of life with the same gusto that they welcome it. For the Ashanti tribe, it is of particular significance. A funeral is a major social event. Ashanti funerals often take place several months, even over a year after the person has died. The reason is that the family must often save …
Ghanaians love football. As a visitor to Ghana, even if you know absolutely nothing about the sport, you cannot help but know about the Black Stars. There is no point fighting the fever, don your Ghana colours, relax and you’ll fit right in.
Last Friday, I invited a Ghanaian friend to accompany me to an event on Sunday. “I can’t go this Sunday, I am going to an outdooring,” was her reply. “A what?” I asked, sure I had misheard. “An ‘outdooring’” she repeated. An outdooring ceremony (also called a naming ceremony) is a Ghanaian tradition, at which …
Another complicating factor driving in Accra (see initial post on this treacherous activity) is the vehicles that are broken down on the road. Very often the cause of a traffic jam is a disabled vehicle in the road. Surprisingly quite a few of those vehicles are old Mercedes (hope I don’t get sued but it …
In part one, I talked a little about the history and importance of bead making in Ghana. I had the opportunity to visit TK Beads where I watched the two processes for creating beads from recycled glass. In the first process, the glass is ground into a powder. This powder can then be dyed to …