Ghana-English

Lately, my exchange has been pretty up and down. I want to be really honest about my time in Ghana to make sure that people reading (and myself in the future) will really get the full picture of my experience here. Being in a new house, with a new family has it's difficulties no matter how great the family is. The down-time, alone time, and "I have no idea how to entertain myself right now" time can be a bit frustrating but that, along with the "Wow, I'll never forget this crazy eye-opening thing I just saw" moments even out along the way to ensure that being here, at this time is right for me.

I've had a lot of time to think, and some great talks with my wonderful, wonderful support system at home so I thought I'd put a bit of that into this post. Now down to the cool things I want to share that I realized I haven't written about though they've surrounded me for seven months.

Twi, Ghana-English, and the phrases that just crack me up:

When someone's asking you to come and get something, to take it, or hold it for a second the word is: collect. "Come and collect." I catch myself telling my students to 'collect' when I'm handing back papers.

One that's always seemed kind of rude to me but now is completely normal and I'm a little afraid I'll offend people when I come home if it slips out is: bring it. When you're asking someone to bring you something there isn't any "Please, could you hand that to me?" it's "Bring it."

If someone calls you fat in Ghana, especially a really traditional Ghanaian, it's a compliment. You might actually be slimmer than the last time they saw you but like back in the States, giving someone a compliment when you greet them is normal. So "You're growing fat." isn't an insult.

Whereas "You're growing thin." sometimes can be.

Instead of saying "Do you understand?" when you're teaching or instructing someone, Ghanaians say "Have you seen (it)?".

Word not to say: crazy. If you say someone is crazy then you are calling them mad, or mentally unstable. And they don't take it lightly. I almost lost me and some other AFSers a cab ride because I said the driver was crazy for asking such a high fare.

"Come" or "Bra" in Twi means just that, come over here. Or you can also say "Go and come" which means "I'm coming back" or "I'll be back later". "Me ba" in Twi is "I'm coming". People say this when they're leaving a room all the time and at first it confused the heck out of me.

"Why didn't you greet me!?" Greeting is super necessary if you don't want to seem rude. Just a "Hello" is all they want, maybe a handshake (accompanied by a Ghanaian finger-snap) too but if you just walk on by someone or wave they'll probably shout "Why didn't you greet me!?".

"You're invited" I think I've mentioned this before, but when you're eating you 'invite' people to come share your food.

"Small, small" can mean a lot of things. Basically it means, just a little bit. "Small, small Twi" can mean I only speak a little Twi or "Only small, small food." etc.

Kakrakakra (not sure on the spelling) but that's "small, small" in Twi.

"Finish all" really only applies to food. You've got to finish everything on your plate.

"Yo" means a million things, but translated it really means "I hear you." People will use "yo" instead of "You're welcome" or they'll say it after you say "Me ba". I've heard you.

"Mepa cho" Now I KNOW I'm spelling that wrong, but it's Twi for "I beg you" or "Please".

"Medase" is "Thank you" in Twi. "Medase pa" is "Thank you very much."

"Pa" is added to a lot of things, sometimes just at the end of an English sentence to add umph. "That girl misbehaves, paaaa".

"Ochena" is "Tomorrow" in Twi. I say it when I leave work, say goodnight, say goodbye.

"Dayie" is "Goodnight" in Twi.

If I ask a Ghanian how they are they sometimes answer "By His grace." Which means basically means yeah, they're good.

I was taught this one by another AFS student and it's in the chorus of a Ghanaian song too, "Obiskilinke". Again, not sure on the spelling, but it means your clothes aren't covering you well enough.

Flip-flops are "slippers". You have slippers for the house and sandals for outside. You don't wear your slippers outside your house or the compound. AT least, if you're being proper.

You don't "Use the restroom" or "Go to the bathroom" you say exactly, and really, exactly what you're doing. I still hesitate to tell my students to "urinate" before we start class, but that's how they say it here!

"Me pe" works for "I like", "I want", "I need", "Give me". "Me pe sika" or "I want money" is pretty commonly heard in busy areas of Accra.

When you're riding in a tro-tro and you want it to stop and let you down you call the 'mate' (the guy who takes the fees, lets people on and off, collects passengers from the side of the road, and signals where the tro-tro is going) to let you down. You can also call for it yourself, though it's heard better if the mate does it but the word is "bustop". Two words merged into one.

Sleep is calling my name, but's been too long since I've posted so I wanted to put something that might be interesting up. Also, ways of communicating are very different in different parts of Ghana and there are a lot of things I could be getting wrong and they especially don't apply to all Ghanaians. Just writing what I've observed, surely not an expert.

Going on vacation soon to the lovely Busua Beach and I'm super excited to see the AFSers in my chapter again and hopefully learn how to surf!

Goodnight.

A fishing boat covered in clothes that someone was selling in the sand by Kokrobite Beach. A wave came in and soaked all the clothes so they were being hung up to dry in the sun.