Food: The Good and the Bad

So far the food has been amazing. I have had Ghanaian Jollof Rice, Kotomire (which I like a lot), and a few other things so far. Also Ghanaians tend to eat with their hands (I know I would never hear the end of it if I ate with my hands at the dinner table). I have started eating meat with my hands; however, I haven’t tried eating rice and other things with my hands yet. This is partially because of my nails and not liking to get my hands overly dirty, but also being so used to eating rice with utensils. I will try using my hands more soon and eat like a true Ghanaian, especially when we get to try Fufu.

Despite my great experiences with the food so far, I have a few preoccupations when it comes to food, especially when I start my home stay. My first worry is my not eating fruits. This is something about me since I was a baby. I tried the fried and boiled plantains (ripe, I actually like green plantains) to humor the Nana Ama and Ama, who have been cooking for us for the past few days but I still do not like them. So far it has not been an issue, as we have been able to chose what, and how much, we would like to eat, hence I can simply not take the fruit. However, I am unsure how I will navigate this during my home stay, if it will even be an issue. My biggest worry is food portioning. As college students, it is common that we gain a few pounds throughout the school year and I am no exception. However, this is not healthy, especially as my weight increases, and as my body changes, I have been getting slightly insecure about it. I want to pull the reins on my eating habits by having smaller portion sizes and having more well proportioned meals (less carbs); however, Ghanaian culture might not allow me to do so.

It is no doubt, the home cooked Ghanaian food that I am eating is most likely much more fresh and healthy than what I eat at school, but it is encouraged to eat three meals a day and eat a lot at each serving. Often times I will take what I consider to be a decent serving and am asked “Is this all you are eating?” According to the people that I have spoken with, it is some what of an insult not eat a lot of food or not finish a majority of the food shared for you. A typical Ghanaian, such as those I will be staying with for my home stay might feel bad, thinking that I do not like their food or that they cannot cook well. Additionally, Ghanaian meals are rice heavy. Often times, the rice makes up the majority of the meal, which is not good when I am trying to cut back on carbs.

Students from the University of Ghana (which will be taking our courses with us) have told us that in Ghanaian culture being big is a good thing and signifies wealth. Avyance (another SIT student) and I laughingly said that “it might be good here but we have to return back home.” Although we were joking, it is true, we do have to come back home and in the US, being too big has negative connotations and implications. My mother has already told me over the phone, jokingly of course, not to come back as big as a house. Honestly I am trying my best but I am unsure how to do this without breaking Ghanaian customs or upsetting my host family when I get there.