We have a new site www.g-lish.org where you can read all articles from This is Ghana in a much more organised fashion. Read Cost of living and travel in numbers there.
The exchange rate is approximately 1 Ghana Cedi = US$0.55. 100 Pesewas = 1 Ghana Cedi. (Like cents to the dollar...took me a while to work that one out.) US$1 = about 1.15-20 Cedis. It is fluctuating a lot at the moment so double check when you have to do the sums
375 ml bottle of Coke/Fanta/Sprite 40-45 pesewas
500 ml sachet of water 5 pesewas
500 ml bottle of water 50 pesewas
Bottle of Star or other local beers 1-1.20 Cedis
bowl of rice, egg, beans and stew on the street: 50 pesewas-1 Cedi
1 Grilled plantain on street 20 pesewas
1 bowl of fufu on street with some kind of meat 1 Cedi
Chicken and fried rice in "chop" bar 3-5 Cedis
Pizza in Accra or major city 10 Cedis
Cup of coffee at cafe in Accra 3 Cedis
Small tin of milk 90 pesewas
Packet of Lipton tea (about 20 bags) 1 Cedi
Small tin of Nescafe 1 Cedi (if you like real coffee you must buy it in Accra Mall 4-8 Cedis)
Packet of spaghetti 60 pesewas
Cup of rice 50 pesewas--depending on type of rice
You can buy all sorts of western products at petrol/gas stations all over Ghana, including toiletries, drinks and chocolate.
Share taxi between towns in most parts of Ghana 40-80 pesewas
Charter taxi across Accra from, say, airport to Kaneshie 4-5 Cedis (but not in an official airport taxi, you have to walk down to the road and haggle).
Official airport taxis cost about 8-10 Cedis at least, anywhere (I always walked to the street and haggled). Never ever pay more than 10.
Cheap backpacker room 5-10 Cedis
Mid-range room 10-30 Cedis
Expensive 40 Cedis plus
Visit to the local doctor 2-5 Cedis
Blood test 2-5 Cedis
Visit to well-known clinics in Accra 10-30 Cedis
Packet of doxycycline (anti malarials) that you can buy over the counter in any pharmacy in Ghana: 1 Cedi for about 10 tabs.
You might also want to read 15 Facts About Ghana in which I comment about the old currency and how it is still quoted by most street sellers.
Cost of living in pictures
We have a new site www.g-lish.org where you can read all articles from This is Ghana in a much more organised fashion. Read Cost of living in pictures there.I took a few photos after a recent trip to the market to help illustrate what you can buy for your Cedi. The total cost of all items in the photo above was 15.70 Cedis or somewhere in the range of $US14.00.
The exchange rate is approximately 1 Ghana Cedi = US$0.85. US$1 = about 1.15-20 Cedis. It is fluctuating a lot at the moment so double check when you have to do the sums.
Now, what follows is the value of 1 Ghana Cedi: what many people earn in a day.
Two plantains, tomatoes, an egg and some spinach.
A mango
Four tomatoes, an egg, pasta
A bunch of bananas
Now, what comes next is what you can buy on the minimum wage in Ghana: 2.65 Cedis a day.
And this, which kind of put things in perspective.
Cost of living in figures, following.
Godwin talks: cross-cultural relationships--food!
We have a new site www.g-lish.org where you can read all articles from This is Ghana in a much more organised fashion. Read Godwin talks: cross-cultural relationships--food! there.
Godwin talks again...
Over the next few weeks I want to talk about cross-cultural relationships: enjoying all its goodies and battling all its challenges. Some of the challenges I experienced were expected. For example, I had to strain my ear at the early stages to understand what my sweetheart was talking about and watching movies that I wasn’t used to, like The Big Lebowski. But one of the things I wasn’t expecting was the plethora of food I would have to eat.
I used not to eat cheese because I had the idea that cheese was made from spoilt milk and was not good for human consumption, but as I speak now cheese is one of my favourite foods. Nowadays, if you give me pasta without cheese it’s like giving me kenke without stew or shitoh. (Ed: I can’t believe anyone thinks Kenke is fit for human consumption but, like, that’s just my opinion man).
My girlfriend took me to a Lebanese restaurant in Accra. I was really looking forward to having delicious fried rice and chicken, the “foreign” meal that is popular among young Ghanaians. But I saw strange names of food on the menu that made me more confused than I was hungry. So I decided my sweetheart should make the choice. We had mint tea and that was the first time in my life to have it. It was an eye opener because mint grows wild in my part of the country in the rainy season and it’s only used to repel mosquitoes and other troublesome insects. Little did I know that this smelly herb could turn out great tea and settle an upset stomach. I really enjoyed the mint tea.
Just as I was readying myself for the sumptuous meal, the waiter appeared and put on our table a massive communion bread. I thought to myself: “Oh, has my angel seen my death and therefore decided to offer me my last supper like Jesus had with his disciples by ordering communion?” Out of surprise, I looked in her eyes and asked, “Honey, what is this?” And she told me, “Lebanese bread.” And I asked, “Do people eat bread for dinner?” I thought I couldn’t eat it. That is what you get when you get into cross-cultural relationships. I decided to have an open mind. “You have to go for this!” I told myself.
At the end of the day, I ate my last supper, but I did not die. I really enjoyed the hommus and the cooked beef. I didn’t know there was any food like Lebanese bread that people enjoy and it was quite a sumptuous meal if you have all the little things that go with it.
If you’re thinking of getting into a cross cultural relationship, you will eat strange foods you’ve never seen or heard of before. That goes for my sweetheart. She eats almost all Ghanaian food except Kenke. It could be fun and exciting. So, in all this, what is needed is an open mind. Until next time…I’m going to heat some leftover pasta—with cheese!
Godwin talks again...
Over the next few weeks I want to talk about cross-cultural relationships: enjoying all its goodies and battling all its challenges. Some of the challenges I experienced were expected. For example, I had to strain my ear at the early stages to understand what my sweetheart was talking about and watching movies that I wasn’t used to, like The Big Lebowski. But one of the things I wasn’t expecting was the plethora of food I would have to eat.
I used not to eat cheese because I had the idea that cheese was made from spoilt milk and was not good for human consumption, but as I speak now cheese is one of my favourite foods. Nowadays, if you give me pasta without cheese it’s like giving me kenke without stew or shitoh. (Ed: I can’t believe anyone thinks Kenke is fit for human consumption but, like, that’s just my opinion man).
My girlfriend took me to a Lebanese restaurant in Accra. I was really looking forward to having delicious fried rice and chicken, the “foreign” meal that is popular among young Ghanaians. But I saw strange names of food on the menu that made me more confused than I was hungry. So I decided my sweetheart should make the choice. We had mint tea and that was the first time in my life to have it. It was an eye opener because mint grows wild in my part of the country in the rainy season and it’s only used to repel mosquitoes and other troublesome insects. Little did I know that this smelly herb could turn out great tea and settle an upset stomach. I really enjoyed the mint tea.
Just as I was readying myself for the sumptuous meal, the waiter appeared and put on our table a massive communion bread. I thought to myself: “Oh, has my angel seen my death and therefore decided to offer me my last supper like Jesus had with his disciples by ordering communion?” Out of surprise, I looked in her eyes and asked, “Honey, what is this?” And she told me, “Lebanese bread.” And I asked, “Do people eat bread for dinner?” I thought I couldn’t eat it. That is what you get when you get into cross-cultural relationships. I decided to have an open mind. “You have to go for this!” I told myself.
At the end of the day, I ate my last supper, but I did not die. I really enjoyed the hommus and the cooked beef. I didn’t know there was any food like Lebanese bread that people enjoy and it was quite a sumptuous meal if you have all the little things that go with it.
If you’re thinking of getting into a cross cultural relationship, you will eat strange foods you’ve never seen or heard of before. That goes for my sweetheart. She eats almost all Ghanaian food except Kenke. It could be fun and exciting. So, in all this, what is needed is an open mind. Until next time…I’m going to heat some leftover pasta—with cheese!
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