Since I don't focus on it in my blog: here's a list of culture shocks I've had in Gana!

Cars in Ghana are seemingly always broken. Either the front window or the seats, one day the filling of the car door fell out when I opened it. They're also dusty. Jed's right car door does only open when you press the little locking knob in front of the window from the inside. Also most Ghanaians (from my experience) neither have nor use seatbelts.

No seatbelts, seemingly no driving rules, streets full of holes... Also no working safety: the coconut vendors use machetes and construction workers barely have helmets. People loosely sit in trunks, sometimes bringing also loose and way to big metal pipes from one place to the other. Wood transports only secure the wood from the sides and are open in the back. As a person that comes from a strictly regulated country when it comes to privacy, this was very shocking.

Dogs, cats, chicken, goats, bats, lizards... they're everywhere and most of the animals that in Germany would be considered pets appear thin and unhealthy - probably because they don't fulfill the same role in Ghana.

Speaking from the majority of my experiences planning a binding time to meet up seems impossible. "Be there at 9 am" - "Oh no, uh we'll make it around 1pm", is something that happened several times. Even though I don't necessarily fulfill the stereotype of the always punctual German, this is something I'll need to get used to.

The humidity, the dusty, smoggy air, the hotness and burning sun. Even though I knew, I start to realize more and more how hard it hits me, especially at noon. Also the day ends and starts early, sun is down at 6pm every day. I'm not made for this enforced healthy schedule.

Not really culture shock for me, since I've experienced it before, but you have to put your toilet paper in an extra bin. Imagine having your period, not yummy.

If you're a Westerner like me, you cannot drink the tap water. Also before using it for your body you should let it flow for a short while. Same goes for the food: only eat food if it's cooked, baked, grilled, boiled or peeled. Never eat food that has been in contact with water (e.g. salad) and isn't hot. Also people here always eat meat: you have to eagerly communicate that you don't want and you will most likely get an egg instead. Plus, food is spicy (as a white person: what isn't?): for me it's fine but if you can't take spicy and don't eat meat or are vegan even, you might want to pack your own lunch.

Women are everywhere and nowhere. You see them carrying goods on their head and selling as vendors in the streets. You see them taking care of their children, you see them around their homes, in their community. You don't see them in high positions, maybe as secretaries, sitting there, not saying a thing. Only twice I have talked to a woman authority here and around six times to men (22.10.24). This is something I personally am a bit sensitive towards, but hey Ghana got it's first female vize president so the hopes for more visibility in the work-place is there!

On the radio, on TV, in the news, while discussing, at the market it often seems like everyone is just screaming.
Also why is there always loud music?
And why do some cars have huge boxes on their roof and why are some people in the streets screaming into a microphone? 
I'm really not used to this, especially Accra was overwhelming. Tamale on the other hand is pretty chill.

At most places - apart from schools maybe - there are no working hours. At one hotel the receptionist slept under a blanket on the ground behind the counter. Many watch Instagram or Tiktok. 

I've never heard engines sound this broken. 

When I first arrived here it seemed to me as if all the Ghanaians smile. This is because I come from a country were most people don't smile per default. So for me this was something I had to get used to, especially because I had to learn to distinguish between honest and non honest smiles. Some people just smile, because they want money or something else and this kind of gave me trust-issues.

People sleep everywhere: on chairs, benches, tables, the ground...... real tbh

Opposed to the plastic and water pollution in Ghana I found many aspects of life here to be non-purposely sustainable (those are solutions born out of poverty, but I still admire the creativity and sustainable advantages):
- Car sharing; Trotros, YellowYellows, Taxis and more, everything is shared
- Shoes; people create long-lasting shoes out of old tires
- Secondhand (okay this is a whole other issue but hear me out); people use secondhand gadgets and clothing 
- Repairing: you can get almost everything repaired. E.g. your shoes at a random stand at the roadside.

It should be common knowledge by now, but Europe and the USA export nearly all old clothing (often donated) to Africa. Here it is seen as a cheap, unique and durable alternative, but it destroys local markets and is over all just a bit mean if you think about how we export clothing that we perceive as trash and here it nukes the infrastructure.

One of the hardest culture shocks for me to deal with is, that in Ghana it is still allowed to hit children. You shouldn't do it out of aggression, but to me it seems like this is still the case. For example: if your parents cannot afford the school fees you will be caned for it - it is none of your fault, as a child you don't have an income, but still it will happen. Also I believe that you shouldn't be punished for anything like that, this doesn't promote learning out of mistakes, but rather being scared of them.
To put it simple: in Germany physically or mentally abusing a child will make you got to jail for up to ten years. I totally and fully agree with this law and even though I cannot blame the people (who grew up this way and also experienced caning in their childhood), but rather the society for this behaviour, my attitude towards this practice won't ever change.