We have a new site www.g-lish.org where you can read all articles from This is Ghana in a much more organised fashion. Read Cross-cultural relationships there.
I wrote a story for the “My Partner is a Foreigner” part of Pocket Cultures, a great site which seeks to “be a place to find out about different countries and world cultures: personal observations and accounts of daily life, articles and interesting projects related to countries and cultures of the world.”
Here is a small excerpt:
“Godwin: “Who is this Elvis?”
Me: “Elvis Presley.”
Godwin: “Who?”
Me: “You know, Ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog…”
Godwin: “I do not know.”
Me: “Really? You’ve not heard of Elvis?”
Godwin: “No.”The thing that still bewilders me is that ideas, experiences and perceptions that seem to have been hard-wired from birth—from Elvis to expressions like “pulling my leg”—have virtually no frame of reference in my life here.”
You can read the whole story here.
Related posts:
Is Godwin familiar with Bob Marley? I'd be interested in testing my theory that Marley–like Michael Jackson, I guess–is one of the rare artists who genuinely managed to transcend cultural boundaries.
Hi Georgia,
Yes I like Bob Marley and everybody in Ghana likes Bob Marley. Bob Marley Day is official in Ghana–we have celebrations like a national holiday and every Ghanaian from the politician to the ordinary woman on the street likes him and his ideals.