Are you surprised?

Hope you had enough time to figure out the answers! Maybe I will teach someone something today. Goal number three still being accomplished!
1. There are seven regions in Ghana.
False. There are ten regions. They are Greater Accra, Central, Western, Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Eastern, Northern, Volta, Upper East, and Upper West. Each region has districts and different tribes. I live in the Northern Region. The capital is Tamale. My district is Central Gonja (the name of my tribe) and the district capital is Buipe. Along with the Gonjas, my village also houses the Dagombas. Years ago, there was a tribal war and the Gonjas won. Although the Gonjas are in charge, my entire village speaks Dagbani (the Dagomba language) and some speak Gonja. They have taken on the Dagomba language and some of the traditions because they live so close to Tamale (which is run by the Dagombas).
Most of the southern regions consist of Christian Ghanaians, whereas most of the northern regions is Islam. The upper east, however, does have the same amount of Christians as Muslims (so I have heard). Somehow, the Muslims were pushed up north out of the Accra area and got surrounded by Christians in the middle of Ghana.
Although religion seems to be a big part of life here, it does not control their whole actions (does it anywhere?). The Muslims do pray the right amount of time every day; they will make up for it if they miss one. The Christians go to church on Sundays. Some go more. But they still have sex out of marriage and still steal, lie, cheat (again, people do everywhere).
2. Ghanaians can read English.
False. Although English is the primary language, most Ghanaians can barely speak it, let alone read it. The only Ghanaians that can read it are the ones that continue on to Senior School and further. Most Ghanaians drop out of school before this, though, especially in the North. Reading is not a necessity, therefore not a priority, and somehow lost.
I am always surprised when I see a Ghanaian reading a novel. It has happened twice in a whole year. It catches me off guard and I am fascinated at the fact that they actually understand that they get joy out of reading. You cannot expect anything here except to be constantly surprised.
3. Ghana was the first place the Peace Corps went to.
True! President JFK sent the first 52 PCVs to Ghana in August, 1961. Since then, the PC has sent over four thousand volunteers. As of right now, there are about 162 volunteers in country; soon we will lose about 70 and gain another 70. The main focus is HIV/AIDS prevention, but some other fields include Community Led Total Sanitation, Small Enterprise Development, Environment, and Education. SED and Environment will combine this year.
4. You can live off a U.S. dollar a day.
True. For the most part. If you stay in a village and either eat the local food or cook for yourself, it is possible to live off one dollar a day. Most the time, though, you have to travel to get your produce and other food. Also, meeting up with people or doing projects makes you use your salary a lot quicker.
5. They drive on the wrong side of the road.
False??? Even though it is British influenced, they (evidently) are supposed to drive on the right side of the road. Does that happen? Not really. Up in the north, the roads are barely tended to, leaving more potholes than road. Therefore, the cars are forced to swerve across the entire highway and drive on the wrong side for most of the time. Wanna play chicken? Sure feels like we are most of the time.
6. I have worn a jacket and jeans at the same time here.
True. Crazy, right? If you live here long enough, you become adapted to the heat and feel the ‘chill’ of a slight breeze. Yup. Never thought you would be comfortable in jeans in Africa, huh? It is true that Ghanaians will close all the windows in a moving car because they fear getting a cold.
7. There is no alcohol here.
False. It’s not good alcohol, but it does exist. In the south, they have palm wine (which they get directly from a tree!), and in the north, they have pitto (which reminds me of tea). They also have something called Apatashe (sp?); “How can something be so awful and wonderful at the same time?” We call this moonshine. At spots (bars) they also serve beer made in Ghana and liquor in sachets (each sachet is about a shot). They also have coke, fanta, and sprite.
8. Ghanaians love to swim.
False. They are terrified of water. Most Ghanaians will not go past their knees in the water. They fear crocodiles and other critters as well as drowning. The beaches are empty, come on over!!
9. If you are in senior school you are between the ages 15 and 18.
I guess I should have specified. I was talking about in Ghana. Therefore, this statement would be False. Most people in Senior school are in their 20s. Since most people cannot afford to go straight through (having to stop and make money for the next year of school), or fail a class, it takes them a lot longer to complete school. It seems crazy sometimes that people in Senior school are around my age.
10. Ghana beat the U.S. in football (soccer) during the world cup.
True. Last year, we watched the game with our Ghanaian families. As the game came to a close, it was interesting to see how excited they were to knock the U.S. out of the world cup.
11. You won’t find cheese here!
False! Thank goodness! Although the cheese is expensive and very VERY limited, you could find it. Most of the cheese you can find is in Accra, but Tamale does sell Mozerella and Laughing cow. Also, they have goat cheese that they fry, called Wagashi. If you go to my house, you can also find cheese that my family sends!
12. It can take you six hours to go the distance it would normally take an hour.
True. As an example, yesterday I went to my site. I left the Tamale office, went to my station to get in a car and it started pouring rain (yay, rainy season is back!!). Two hours later, we leave the station. You can never expect to reach a destination at the same time every time. Cars break down constantly. People get in and out of the cars every five hundred feet. They need to get gas because they refuse to pay for a whole tank at one time. The cars break down (did I mention that?).
13. There is no such thing as ‘women’s clothing’.
Well, I should have worded that one differently too. I meant for it to be True. When it comes to Westernized clothing, there is no distinction between men and women clothing. It is always entertaining to see men in skinny, obviously women’s jeans. I get annoyed when I realize that I would not even be able to fit in them.
14. The PC has guards at all offices at all times.
True. There are three offices in Ghana. One is in Tamale. The offices are houses, surrounded by walls and a gate, where the guard stays 24/7/365. There are a few guards at each office that rotate through. You also have to sign in every time you come, which keeps track of who is in each office. Safe and secure!
15. I have had two snakes in my house.
False. I (knock on wood) have not had any snakes in my house. I have, however, had them in my yard and have seen plenty on the road. Most of the time, the ones on the roads are dead. Thank goodness!