GHexpat

I'm not really the picture-taking type, nor do I believe in randomly snapping people without their consent.  So these are just a few random pics I wanted to share with the public, nothing spectacular if you’re already used to Ghana but may may stand out to those who aren't. This is the main pathway leading into the house of one of my homeys.   For the most part, the compound is surrounded by mango farms.  And there stands a couple of mango trees on the left: This is a mango stand on the road leading into Somanya, a town located in the Eastern Region of Ghana.   The primary economic activity of the town is mango farming.   On this part of the road and especially during mango seasons, these types of stands are everywhere, being managed by female entrepreneurs: On the left is natural tobacco.   I heard that it’s now kinda common in the United States, though I can’t say I remember regularly coming across some while there.   I don’t think the stuff i...

I had written before about how one of the most difficult adjustments to living in Ghana has been in terms of dietary changes.  More specifically, the foods I grew up enjoying in the United States tend to be either difficult to find, uncomfortably expensive or outright unavailable in this part of the world. And I know, from chatting with a couple of friends, that Ghanaians face similar challenges stateside.  For instance, one homey from Ghana told me how when he's in the States, he makes groundnut soup from peanut butter. Normally, groundnut soup is made from groundnut (aka peanut) paste, which itself is produced naturally.  Meanwhile, peanut butter is a processed supermarket food, besides being sweetened, thus meaning it's not an ideal alternative for groundnut paste when it comes to making soup.  But you do what you have to do when you're living in a part of the globe you're not accustomed to. PROLIERATION OF WESTERN-LIKE SNACKS IN GHANA When I first came to Ghana,...

I remember a few years back, I was reading what may have been a Watchtower pamphlet.  There was an intriguing article about this old American couple who was in one of those Asian island countries that has serious civil issues.  They ended up being kidnapped by a band of rebels, those types that are always moving around in the bush so that they won't be detected.  The rigors of being on foot like that wasn't easy for them, and unfortunately the husband died along the way.  So it was the wife who lived to tell the tale. While captive they did a lot of praying, as to be expected.  And as time progressed and they grew more accustomed to being captive in the bush, it even reached a point where, according to the wife the couple prayed to the Lord Himself for hamburgers.  And one day, out of nowhere, it's like they found themselves on the outskirts of the city and were able to get some. There's now Burger King in Ghana, thank God. It was that particular aspect of...