Cultural Differences: Ghana v. US
Noted on February 14, 2011 by IE3 Student in
By Mandy Sladky: Portland State University student and IE3 Winter 2010 Scholarship Recipient interning with Environmental Development Youth Movement in Ghana.
Africa Time
Before coming here, I kept hearing of “Africa time”. Africa time is the idea that Africans run on a different kind of schedule and are always late by our standards- for example, agreeing to meet at 6 o'clock may mean that you will meet anytime between 6 and 8. This is what I kept hearing, but it has not proved true for Ghana, at least not for me. Maybe this is simply because I am a yevu (white person) and people know yevu's expect to meet at the exact specified time. Though the people I work with are humored by my punctuality, and have teased: “Mandy, Mandy- Always on time!”
I do notice however, that people aren't always exact in choosing a time to meet. Someone will tell me that we will meet after lunch, and I will say, “Okay, what time?” only for them to repeat, “after lunch.” I have learned that this implies we will figure it out later; maybe someone will call when they have eaten, rested, and are ready to meet.
Things do move more slowly here in the village. The people walk very slow, and generally don't hurry to do much of anything. I am so used to hurrying back home! All the time hurrying to get the job done. Although I generally like being busy, it has been nice to take my time. And I notice that things still get done. It's not as though people are lazy or not completing the tasks at hand. They are somehow able to work hard and get things done, all without rushing. Maybe we Americans just feel like our lives are so much busier, or we make them busier than they need to be. However, I think this difference in pace may simply be due to differences between cities and villages: in a city there is traffic and time is wasted getting from place to place, while in a village you can get anywhere you need to be in a short amount of time, even if you walk painfully slow. The lifestyles and tasks to be completed are also much different in the village; a person may have to pull a huge fishing net out of the water, and that is the only thing he has planned for the day.
I have to admit, that the slowness does irritate me on occasion. I have to remind myself that there is no hurry! I know that the longer I am here, the better adjusted I will become to the pace. If nothing else, I will gain patience from this experience!
Individualism and Collectivism
People have a much different sense of privacy here. The American culture of individualism has really made me appreciate privacy and “me time” and other such individualistic ideals. Sometimes I write in my journal (something I am only doing while traveling, not something I do at home) outside in the common area and people that come to say hello to me will blatantly try to read it. I don't know if they consider it rude when I close the journal and set it aside. I have had similar experiences when trying to read email. Sometimes people try to read over your shoulder in the states, but they are usually chastised for it. 
There are some cultures that are based on individualism and others that are based on collectivism. The village is definitely more community-centered. Probably any village would be. People do their daily chores out in the community, eat and work out in the community. People are rarely indoors during the day. Plus, I think people just have better things to worry about than whether someone can see them urinating or breastfeeding, which makes for a total lack of concern about such things.
Just like the slow pace, the longer I am here, the more I will be able to appreciate collectivism. I could never fully give up my privacy and sense of individualism, though. I guess I'm just too American!