- Air conditioning makes you shiver.
- You know every person in your neighborhood and interact with them daily.
- People don’t understand anything you say despite knowing small amounts of two tribal languages plus English.
- You pronounce ‘pepper’ as ‘peppey’.
- You think that ‘Obrunis’ (including yourself) look funny.
- After telling your host mom you’re not hungry she says, “Okay”, and still serves you enough rice for two or three normal people.
- Cars and motorcycles drive quickly on the sidewalk and nearly hit you – but you’re so used to it that you don’t even flinch.
- You stop exercising because washing your clothes by hand is enough of a workout.
- You regularly see people sweeping dirt floors.
- Internet peaks at 100 kilobytes per second (2011)
- Students get in trouble for smuggling soccer magazines to school.
- The first question you get asked when meeting someone is, “Are you a Christian or a Muslim?”
- After telling locals you’re from the United States they respond, “Are you from New York or California?”
- Skin color is merely a fact of life – a given that we are born with. Oftentimes I am referred to as “White man”.
- (Many) African-Americans are not considered to be ‘black’.
- People occasionally ask you to ‘say hello to Obama’ for them, and sometimes even refer to you as “Obama” if they do not know your name. Ghanaians love Obama – see the photo below for proof.
- The only shows on television are English dubbed Spanish soap operas, Nigerian movies, and religious gatherings.
- Americans would not be able to pronounce the names of most foods you eat.
- People carrying bags placed anywhere besides on top of their heads is a rarity.
- You are faced with the challenge of eating extremely hot soups and stews with your hands.
- You show up an hour late to a party and it still hasn’t begun.
- You can ask for a ‘hard one in a rubber’ (an aged coconut in a plastic bag) without getting strange looks.
