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| THE MONEY |
| The currency of Ghana is the CEDI. This name is taken from the little shelfs used for paymnet in the past. It has made quite a down fall the last couple of years. When I came to Ghana in 2002 one Euro was 7,900 Cedis. These days a Euro will get you almost 11,500 Cedis. You can change your money at forexbureaus in Accra. I never used travellers' checks, since you can change them almost nowhere and the rate is very bad! |
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| THE PRESIDENT This is the president of Ghana, Mister John A. Kufuor. He is from the NPP, the New Patriotic Party. Just a couple of weeks ago, in December there were elections. President Kufuor won them again and will be the president of Ghana for the next four years. People in Tokokoe don' really like, mainly because he is an Ashanti, from the western part of the country. They like Flight Lieutenant Rawlings more or his successor Prof. Atta Mills. Mr. Rawlings mother is an Ewe... He however almost doesn't speak Ewe, since he was raised in Scotland, where his father is from. Three of the four Ministers of education came to visit me in Tokokoe. I wrote them letters with my ideas on education and they liked them. They came over to discuss my ideas. The last one that came was Ms. Christine Churcher, she is the minister for primary, secondary and girl child education. She brought me the compliments of the President! |
| Ghana's National anthem God bless our homeland Ghana, And make our nation great and strong, Bold to defend forever The cause of freedom and of right. Fill our heart with true humility Make us cherish fearles honesty And help us to resist oppressors' rule With all our will and might forever more. |
| Students in Ghana have to sing the national anthem every morning before school starts. They also recite the national pledge, say quotations from the bible and sing hymns. |
| FUFU My favorite food in Tokokoe is FUFU. It is maid of yams or cassave. They both resemble potatoes, but normally are much bigger. You have to peel them, slice them and cook them just like potatoes. But then it starts. The cooked pieces go into a wooden pot and are heavily pounded untill they become a smooth doughlike lump. That's when the fufu is ready. You just have to cook a greassy soup with it made from tomatoes, groundnuts or palmnuts and add some fish, rat, grasscutter (big rat) or chicken and voila, a 'healthy' meal. You take some of the fufu with your RIGHT hand and put it in the soup. Then you eat it without chewing. Your left hand is considered dirty, used in the toilet... Handing things, waving, pointing at someone' house with your left hand is an insult and will get you a smack from your parents! |
| Insulting someone The obvious sign for insulting someone in the Netherlands is obviously the middle finger. The funny thing is that in Ghana this gesture means absolutely nothing! You often see children point their middle finger at the book they are reading to keep track of the text. If you want to insult someone in Ghana you can of course hand things or point with your left hand. But there is something worse! Make a fist and lay your thumb on top, just like a Dutch soldier standing in attention. Point this at a person and he or she will be very insulted! For maximum insult do this with your left hand! A common word accompanying this sign is AVU, which means DOG in Ewe. |
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