· Sport is part of the curriculum in schools here. That doesn’t mean students are required to play on after school sports teams. Here it means that during second term at least a week is taken to play sports between the houses (think Harry Potter and all students split into 4 houses). Some Peace Corps said sport takes up to a month because they give the students time to practice and construct little huts for each house.
· Witchcraft and devils are not just a good plot line for movies here. They are taken seriously and people fear and respect them. Also, it is a common belief that witches and devils are part of American culture too but they put their knowledge and magic to good use to help scientists build airplanes, helicopters, computers, etc. I had to tell them that I had never heard of this in America but since I’m not a scientists perhaps I was just never privileged enough to learn these secrets.
· Corporal punishment is very common here. In school and at home it is common to see children being flogged for their misbehavior. They like to quote “spare the rod, spoil the child” or tell me that African children are different than American children and wont learn unless they are flogged. I keep insisting that all children are the same but alas that idea just doesn’t seem to take hold at my school. Just last week the teachers and principal tried to make me flog a student that had been very bad just to show the seriousness of the offense he had committed. I politely declined and said I just couldn’t hit anyone regardless of what they had done.
· Being chubby or stout is considered beautiful here. People think it is a compliment if they tell you you are putting on weight. It would be like someone in the U.S. saying “you look good, have you lost weight?” Except that here people say “you look good, you’ve been gaining weight.” haha it takes some adjustment to say the least.
· Two of the most common questions I get here are “are you married?” and “do you have children?” I always respond that I don’t yet because I am too young. They then proceed to ask my age and laugh. I would estimate about 75% of girls my age here have children and are engaged to someone if not married.
· People think it is weird that I could ever desire to eat anything besides rice and sauce. Most people eat rice morning, noon, and night. They joke that if they haven’t eaten rice that day it is like they haven’t eaten anything at all.
