Sharing a Meal

An article I wrote as my first impression on ghana...

Hungry and tired after a long day of meetings with local chiefs, my
colleagues and I all sat down to enjoy a meal together. It is
something that happens both here in Ghana as it does in Canada, we
discuss and talk about the days events, joke around together, and
enjoy good, home cooked food. There is, however, one small
differences: we all ate from one big bowl using our right hand.

Fufu is a traditional dish in Ghana, specifically the southern part of
Ghana, that is loved by many people, kinda like hamburgers for Canada
(ok, so maybe not hamburgers, but its hard to pick average food from
Canada, can you think of any?). It is made of cassava or yam that is
pounded over and over again with water and other goodies to become a
dough-like ball. This is served in a bowl with a peanut, palm nut or
tomato soup on top, mostly with chunks of meat or fish in it. For
dinner tonight it was whole fresh fish in a spicy tomato soup. The
four of us crowded together to enjoy a steaming bowl.

Sharing, including food, is a major part of life in Ghana. Not only is
food shared, but time, wealth, company, drinks, and hearts. Everyone
seems to help one another when there is need. You can ask your uncle
to stop everything and go downtown to pick up sugar and he will
because he is your family and you need his help. Family is a loose
term as friends and neighbours are all included. People often have
multiple mothers in different places, woman who take care of them when
they are away from home. Due to the helping nature, time takes on a
different meaning. If you have an appointment and are driving towards
it, you can easily get off track when someone asks you for something.
It is perfectly normal to have meetings hours and hours later than
when they were originally agreed upon.

As a Canadian, it took some time to understand and not to get
frustrated over this 'apparent' lack of time. I would be told it was
very important to be ready by 7 am for an appointment, and be sitting
waiting for the next 3 hours until the person finally arrived. Even as
I am writing this, I have been waiting for the past four hours for a
meeting to happen. Meetings, appointments and events do eventually
happen, and no one seems to mind being behind as are probably running
late as well. After a month in Ghana of my internship with the Center
for Indigenous Knowledge and Organizational Development, I am just
starting to get the hang of it.

Talking to my friend Fred, he explained that 'in Ghana we have time,
but we practice patience', which is what I am expected to learn during
my next 5 months here. To enjoy the time waiting and knowing that I
can always get help from someone just by asking.

Eating together, especially with our hands, brings people together, as
there is a shared sense of intimacy. By being invited to join, I was
honoured and felt accepted into this new culture and community.