Ain't Life Funny

From what I've experienced thus far, Ghanaians don't really tell jokes, they don't really use sarcasm, and in general they don't really go out of their way to be humorous. At first I thought that Ghanaians just aren't very funny people. But every day that goes by, I realize that Ghanaians don't have to try to be funny, because life in Ghana is funny on it's own. The best way to explain what I mean is examples...

• On the reg, I will be walking down the street and a child (who is squatted over the ditch taking a deuce, mind you) will wave, say good morning, want to know my name, and how I am doing.
• A chop bar (fast food kiosk thing) in Takoradi advertises “PORK SHOW” on their sign... hahahah what?
• A six foot blonde speaking an African tribal language.
• Ghanaians LOVE Michael Bolton...WTF
• In Ghana the greeting process is very structured and fairly lengthy compared to that of the greeting process in America. As I was walking through Old Tafo one night a few weeks ago, I went through the greeting process with an elderly man only to realize at the very end that he had been peeing throughout the entire exchange.
• The other day David and I were on a tro in the far backseat. We were talking about something benign like the trees or the weather, when all of a sudden a weird guttural animal noise comes from directly underneath our seat. We look at each other like, “WTF was that!” and start cracking up. Turns out there was a cute little goat hanging out down there.
• Amit heard an adult woman yell at a little boy who was loitering around her store, “Fuck off you fucking kid."  Don't mess with her, I'm telling you.
• I saw a car traveling about 80 mph with 2 sheep standing on top of it. I don't even know if they were tied down.
• The other day Caitlin was in a cab, the car hit a bump, the key fell out of the ignition, and the car kept going.
• A goat just strolled into my living room, pooped, and walked out. Literally 5 seconds ago.
• This one is a favorite among my fellow volunteers... I have a Ghanaian name. “Ama” (pronounced ah-mah) is my first name, which indicates that I am a female born on a Saturday. My second name is “Fati” (pronounce fah-tee), a Muslim name given to me by the elders of Menji, which means gift from God. Thus, my Ghanaian name is “Ama Fati.”
• One of the teachers at my school said to me this morning, “Look at this guy,” (putting his hand on the noggin of a ~9 year old boy), “He is so funny. Sometimes he can be so annoying that I just have to beat the shit out of him.”
• A chop bar in Koforidua is painted with the words “Mind God, Not Your Wife.”
• Unclean water or unsanitary food prep or any number of things can lead to diarrhea. A Peace Corps volunteer pooing their pants is funny no matter what type of sense of humor you have.
• Condom demonstrations are an important and universal part of HIV/AIDS education programs. Common on, a giant wooden penis? Ahhhhhahahhaa I die laughing thinking about the guy who carves and paints wooden dicks for a living.

So you see what I mean? None of these things were meant by any means to be funny. They were just a regular moment in a regular day. But, sometimes I just have to crack up at the amusing nature of life in Ghana.

Oh hey there.