We’ve already delved into topics such as amenities, healthcare, crime and punishment in Explore with Kojo’s “Living in Ghana vs. America” series. In this installment, we’ll focus on family matters, romance and sports.

FAMILY & INHERITANCE

Africans operate more along an extended family system.  What I’ve learned since coming here is that isn’t all about love for your relatives.  There are more practical reasons, like inheritance laws, why such is the norm in Ghana.

Moreover the African system, unlike many parts of the States, is more patriarchal.  Traditional patriarchies support the concept of extended family more than matriarchies.  For instance, when you hear Africans speaking of their “family house”, it’s usually one that a man, the patriarch, has built.  So a person may find themselves living there alongside various other descendants of the patriarch, i.e. extended family.  Ideally, the family house is a refuge for all descendants who need a place to stay.  And so it also goes, on a more macrocosmic level, with land.

INHERITANCE NORMS

In the United States citizens, especially richer ones, favor leaving behind wills.  Failure to do so could more likely result in family members squabbling over inheritance.  That standard of the deceased needing to have everything written down, to my understanding, is not common in Ghana.  So for instance a patriarch dies, leaving behind four children and a four-bedroom house, each of his children will inherit a room.  But of course if one of the beneficiaries is, say, more ambitious than the rest, he may end up bogarting the others.

ELDER CARE

Elderly Ghanaian woman sitting indoors in a modest home, surrounded by household items and clothing.

So ultimately, as with the United States, Ghanaians have different types of relationships with their respective relatives.  The concept of Africans revering the elderly, based on what I’ve observed, is exaggerated.  Some elder Ghanaians end up lonely or abused, just like in the States. But one key difference is that in Ghana, nursing homes are virtually unheard of. So families understand that eventually, if blessed with age, all of us will one day be residentially dependent. But treatment of the elderly who find themselves unable to survive otherwise is often less than ideal.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

In Ghana, it’s a lot more common and acceptable to intervene in cases of domestic violence.  It doesn’t happen all of the time, but there isn’t that type of ruggedly individualistic thinking that exists in the States.

For instance, a friend of mine recently developed serious issues with his wife, to the point of separation.  In response, the entire family got together and met in the name of keeping the relationship intact.  I don’t know if they were successful, but at least they tried.  And again, those types of efforts are common in Ghana.

TO INTERVENE OR NOT TO INTERVENE

But again, that’s not to imply that Ghana is somehow perfect.  In that selfsame neighborhood, a man recently and unintentionally beat his minor daughter to death.  I would imagine she was crying or calling out for help, and someone had to have heard her, but no one intervened.

That’s more akin to the U.S. standard.  When it comes to domestic violence in the United States, people have more of a mind-your-business type of mentality.  If you involve yourself in those situations as a peacemaker, there’s a good possibility you may end up being assaulted yourself.  That’s especially true stateside and even for the police.

Both the U.S. and Ghana may have issues with domestic violence, but it is more ubiquitous in the former.  Based on what I’ve observed, people even beat their kids more regularly in the States.  There are often financial concerns intertwined with domestic violence, but poverty in and of itself doesn’t make people more violent.  Peace can often prevail when it’s supported on a cultural level.

RESIDENTIAL MATTERS

One of the major differences between the U.S. and Ghana is with the latter, villages remain more or less ubiquitous. If you know where to look, even in major cities you usually don’t have to travel far to get to a village or rural area in Ghana.

For the most part, Ghanaians don’t prefer living in villages. There’s a rapid rate and noticeable rate of rural-urban drift. But there are also people who for one reason or another build very nice homes in villages. It may be that they’re from the village. Others favor the rural lifestyle or may be into farming.  Still others may go because land is cheaper than in the city, though the cost of living isn’t necessarily, all things considered.

HOMELESSNESS

I once heard someone say that there isn’t anything like homelessness in the village, and from what I’ve observed, that’s true. But the same cannot be said of Ghanaian cities. Certain localities, usually closer to urban centers, have disturbingly-noticeable issues with homeless people. In the central cities, the cause is usually poverty. In more outlying areas, the people you find living on the streets most often have mental problems.

With the U.S. being even more urbanized and populous, homelessness is likewise a much more serious problem there. Also, most Americans can’t claim a family house, and the problem has been getting worse with rising unemployment and housing prices. An ever-inflating cost of living is likewise a big issue in Ghana. But thankfully, people sleeping on the street isn’t a widespread issue though disturbing where it does occur. A more ubiquitous problem is lacking the funds to acquire adequate or respectable housing.

Many Ghanaians are shielded from homelessness by their family houses. But a lot of people venture out on their own and, as with their American counterparts, idealize homeownership.

HOME OWNERSHIP & RENTING

In the States, the ultimate goal is usually to purchase a house, most often via a mortgage, that’ll take decades to pay off.  Ghanaians, on the other hand, don’t not have the privilege of living in a credit-based society. So here, the vision is rather to buy land and build a house from the ground up.  This strategy is also like a mortgage, in a way, in that the house usually takes years to complete. Also, as with the U.S., in Ghana you don’t need all of the money upfront to start the homeownership process. However in Ghana, these ambitions are also made more challenging by the fact that you at least must own the land first.

Renting a residence in Ghana is usually done on a yearly basis. In other words, you can only acquire a standard rental by paying in advance, and the minimal payment is at least a year.  Shorter-termed housing tends to be a lot more expensive.

Contrastingly, stateside we usually rent places on a monthly basis. And a standard American advance would only be like three months, i.e. first month, last month and security, with the latter being refunded if you don’t leave behind major damage.  Sometimes in Ghana, you also have to pay a security deposit on top of the year(s).  The yearly is more stable though makes it harder for many people to rent homes.

ROMANTIC MATTERS

Ghanaian woman in traditional attire interacting with two men in colorful clothing, sitting outdoors in a rural setting.

Ghana is a country where marriage is still common, and the official divorce rate is very low, almost nonexistent. By a certain age, you’re more or less expected to be married and furthermore not to quit the relationship afterwards.

But there’s a considerable amount of promiscuity nonetheless, and Ghanaian women are more liberated than many outsiders may presume.  Also, it isn’t uncommon for Ghanaian men to go into marriage knowing that they’re going to sleep with other women.  It’s true that American men do not marry as regularly as their Ghanaian counterparts.  But when they do, they more seriously intend to stick to one woman, whether they’re successful or not.  These differences in thinking are likely influenced by the fact that, unlike the U.S., polygamy is legal in Ghana.

That said, it’s not particularly common to meet a Ghanaian man with more than one wife.  There aren’t a lot of guys out here who are officially married to more than one woman.

The way the system is supposed to work is that only a man who can afford an additional spouse would even venture to go there.  However, most high-paid Ghanaian husbands don’t go that route.  They may or may not have a side piece but aren’t particularly inclined to have two wives.

Ghana is a country where most residents are religious and furthermore Christian. Polygamy is considered more of an Islamic thing. But even then, to reiterate, it’s not like every Ghanaian Muslim has numerous wives.

SEXUAL ETHICS

To my understanding, STDs have steadily been on the rise in both the U.S. and Ghana.  But the situation is exponentially worse stateside, thus verifying the notion that Americans have a lower degree of romantic commitment and sexual discipline.

Based on what I’ve observed, I wouldn’t say that Ghanaians are less promiscuous per se.  It’s more like in Ghana, there are more social protections, so to speak, if you decide to be chaste.  Americans idealize promiscuity, serial monogamy, sex work, etc. more than Ghanaians.

In either country, it isn’t particularly advisable to get married, as a man, if you’re not ready.  Ghanaian females may be considered more ‘marriage material’ than American women, but that doesn’t always translate to a higher degree of understanding, sympathy and support.

Also, women in the States tend to earn more, and you know what they say about romance without finance.  They aren’t as likely to pressure their men about money.  But in Ghana, a lot of dudes are afraid of women due to the affordability factor.  And it’s an issue because again, people tend to become sexually active whether they can afford a family or not.

SPORTS

Soccer – or football as it’s apparently called everywhere outside of the United States – is the biggest sport in Ghana, and there’s no close second. You’d be hard-pressed to find a basketball court in GH, though they are present in a few select localities. If you really love playing b-ball and are stuck in this part of the world, you’d probably have to erect a hoop in your house. And as for baseball or American football, I can’t say I ever saw anyone playing them in Ghana, though I do believe I heard of a baseball team once. But it was even worse back in the days, as at least now you can stream the NBA, MLB and NFL.

Group of Ghanaian football players posing together on a football pitch in training gear.

Soccer is also what may be defined, in a global context, as a nationalistic sport. One of the most exciting times to come to Ghana is during the World Cup or Africa Cup of Nations. When the national team scores, unless they’re getting blown and have absolutely no chance of winning, it’s like everyone in the country starts cheering. Crowds gather at many locations, sometimes even at electronics’ stores, to watch the event, though public gatherings aren’t what they used to be now that television and internet are ubiquitous.

NO NATIONAL PRIDE STATESIDE

In the U.S., it’s only recently that people have begun caring, a little bit, about soccer. And whereas most Americans tend to have some interest in the Olympics, World Cup and other prestigious international competitions, there really isn’t anything like a sense of pride in national teams.

Team USA’s Men’s Basketball Team is akin to the Black Stars, Ghana’s national men’s football team, in terms of respective popularity.  When Team USA loses, people may be disappointed – understandably, all things considered.  But it’s not like we, as Americans, get emotional.

Contrastingly, when the Black Stars lose, even upon fielding a blatantly mediocre roster, you may see a commentator in Ghana spazzing or even calling for heads, as there’s a palpable sense of sadness or upsettedness in the country.  I remember one year during the World Cup, the mood was so unfavorable after the Black Stars lost that even dogs were afraid to bark.  Indeed, the government of Ghana itself is visibly vested in the national team, to the point that when they fail, govvie also faces some criticism.

Stateside, fans tend to have more of an emotional connection to local, i.e. city or college, teams. When a professional city team wins a championship, there are large parades and sometimes even riots. But still, it’s nothing like being in Ghana when the Black Stars succeed.  Not only do you hear people everywhere – even neighbors you don’t speak to – cheering. But you also feel that the celebration is going on throughout the entire country, thus forming a sense of simultaneous unity like nothing else I’ve ever experienced.

Ghanaians and people from other parts of the world where soccer is huge are used to this. But as someone who grew up in the States, you’re like ‘wow’.  Who even knew that an entire country could rally behind a sports’ team? But I guess that’s more possible when there’s only one sport, so to speak.

CONCLUSION

Compared to the U.S., Ghana may be the cooler place to live and start a family. But as usual, the caveat is the cost of living and other economic factors.

The next and final installment in this series will focus on grander comparisons between the two countries, dealing with the likes of economics, religion, racism and classism.

 

About the Writer

Malcolm Aaron, an American expat and writer living in Ghana for over a decade, sitting outdoors with a thoughtful expression.

This article was written by Malcolm Aaron, an American expat who has lived in Ghana for more than a decade. Drawing from his personal experiences, Malcolm offers a unique perspective on the contrasts and connections between life in Ghana and the United States.

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