Knowledge of a culture prepares you for the unexpected.
My brother and I went on a trip to Ghana a number of years back. We went as part of a group of other people of our age group at that time, mostly in their twenties. We had the time of our lives as brothers but many of the others in the group really struggled with the differences in culture.
We were staying at a sports college and were in a block of flats next to some football pitches and a basketball court. A cow had been tethered to a stake in the ground nearby for a while and the girls in the group went over and fed it some grass. Little did they know what would happen.
My brother and I stood at the railing on the third story watching and listening to the girls talk about the cow and how they had been feeding it. I looked at the cow, I looked at the basketball court and I turned to my brother and said…” I bet they will be butchering that cow on the basketball court tomorrow.” My brother looked and agreed with me. The girls laughed at us.
Sure enough, the next morning they were butchering the cow on the basketball court and the girls were really upset.
We had grown up watching the local people butcher cows and other livestock on the flat rocks at the back of our house. We had seen the cook kill chickens and rabbits for us to eat. In West Africa people often butcher their own meat. Something that most people in England never get to see. Its all neatly hidden away and never gets a second thought.
Paul
Hi, My name is Paul. I Spent the first 14 years of my life growing up in Nigeria. My parents worked at a hospital at Vom in Plateau State and I went to a school called Hillcrest. I am married with 3 children, the youngest of which is deaf and the middle son has attention defecit hyperactivity disorder. I work in computers and accounts.Related Posts
5 Comments to “Knowledge of a culture prepares you for the unexpected.”
July 20th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Yes, that’s all very true.
The first memory I have of being in Eritrea was when I was 6 and I was there visiting family. I was feeding the chickens one morning when my grandfather went to take the goat somewhere… out of curiosity I followed him.
He slit the goats throat behind a wall at the back of the house. I screamed and ran. I was mad at him for about a week I think
I eventually got used to it though. When I lived in Pakistan, we saw people doing it in the markets.
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July 21st, 2008 at 4:24 am
I haven’t quite been prepared for culture to that extent I think, mainly because I haven’t lived in a place where you butcher your own meat. But I’ve been prepared for certain words that I haven’t heard before, and maybe certain actions as well.
That’s interesting though how you could just sense that straight off. =)
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July 22nd, 2008 at 12:04 am
“In West Africa people often butcher their own meat. Something that most people in England never get to see. Its all neatly hidden away and never gets a second thought.”
You know Paul, that’s a good point. Sometimes I wonder how many English people would actually eat meat if they saw it butchered… hmmm.
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July 22nd, 2008 at 2:50 pm
i think i am okay with seeing someone butchering (well. can’t tell because i’ve never seen it in my own eyes but) than seeing someone drinking the blood off of a goat. piercing a small portion of the neck is one thing, i think it’s the part when the blood floods out in one stream that’s gruesome. i wish to understand the reason behind all this so i can understand their custom better
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July 22nd, 2008 at 4:19 pm
My brother put the head of the goat he butchered in the freezer AND took photo’s to show everyone.
My dad shot game and cooked it. And he fished and boiled crabs live..hearing them rattle around in that pot…wow.
I wouldn’t have doubted you GREEN…I would have just made a point not to go to that side of the building for the next several days, lol…
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