This page will serve to include all of the information that was interesting but fit under no other area; i.e. stuff.
I had a good conversation with a 27-year-old, well-to-do bachelor who the group had a lot of exposure to. He was cool about everything and I was able to ask him about anything (and did). I learned some interesting things from him about Ghanaian love life and other stuff:
The love life of an average Ghanaian was nothing too odd or different from what we have in America. Men prefer women who are the same age or a year or two younger. No one gets married very young or is forced into marriage any different from America. It is a lot more traditional, to the point of men being able to have more than one wife (if he can support them- it is not fun or easy to do this).
The parents are much more involved in the process. If a wife and husband are having serious conflicts, then either the husband or wife may work through the spouse’s parents to come to a resolution.
A married woman may be asked every 2 years if she is happy in the marriage. If the woman is not happy then she has her say…not a bad idea. The man can have his say every other day.
The same conversation involved the following reasons why sugar is not popular in Africa:
1. Teeth- There was no dental floss but brushing with toothpaste was normal. So was the "chewing stick" which kind of smelled like a mild onion to me…
2. "Sugar sickness"- I guess that this is referring to the lightheadedness that can occur with a spike in blood sugar and a low-protein diet.
3. A belief that sugar and ability for a man to perform with a woman are negatively correlated. Too much sugar, and the number of acts is limited. (The Viagra people have it all wrong)
Gestures (same conversation and others):
(All of Ghana and perhaps Africa) The handshake- it is either a standard handshake or a variation thereof only it ends with the middle finger being held out to snap both your and the other person’s fingers.
(Ewe) Left hand cupped and out from body with the top of the right hand slapping it- means begging; for a stern non-guilty plea with the hope of little punishment (at least the way I heard it used) Such as "Here father, hit my hand, but know that I am innocent of what you are disciplining me of." (other meanings probably exist)
(Ewe?) Crossed leg (I may be completely off on this one)- If done in a certain way (by no means is it universally accepted to carry this sentiment) it can be used by a wife to say "Hey husband, give me money."
Random things from the conversation:
If a man’s wife has cheated on him then he may not eat food that she prepares.
Homosexuality (at least according to this conversation) is not present in Ghana. Such a "foolish thing" would again be corrected by the "swift" government like it was a few years back. He believed that the "unnatural condition" was put into the minds of Ghanaians by (American) movies. This may be true; the large cities (the only places with movie theatres were the main places where homosexuals were apparent but then, cities are much different in other ways too and who knows what REALLY goes on?
It is completely normal for heterosexual males to be more affectionate towards one another than is common in America. I never really detected a "macho" attitude comparable to that which is found in America (although there certainly were attitudes in many people).
Random things not from the conversation:
In the Ewe cultural group, it is common for a person’s nickname to be the Ewe word for the day of the week that they were born on.
Corporal punishment is the norm in the schools. A stick is used to beat the child on the hand, but he may also be hit elsewhere (legs, etc…) The provocation can be anything that disturbs the classroom, hitting another student but is usually for giving wrong answers. This prompted one person who I know of to lie about his age to be in a younger grade so that he would be hit less.