Tuesday, October 07, 2008

The Effects of Lunch on the Ghanaian worker



My big brother, the same one who told me in the early 80s that my heart-throb Michael Jackson would never marry me because I was black…years later when Michael transformed himself from a black man to a Japanese woman, I admit that my big bruv may have been right..

Anyway, I digress…this is not about Michael. My big bruv has this theory that there is a direct correlation between our lack of productivity as a nation and the meals we indulge in at lunch….

So class, the equation is:

Ghanaian Worker + Typical Ghanaian lunch = Sleep for the rest of the afternoon


I have direct experience with this phenomenon. After a lovely fermented meal like banku (fermented corn and cassava dough), I have to prop open my eyes with tooth-picks.

In fact most Ghanaian lunches from Waakye (rice and beans), fufu (pounded plantain and cassava) have that effect.

I think my brother may have a point because when I was in the Netherlands earlier this year I noticed a different phenomenon:


Dutch worker + light sandwich lunch = 30 minute lunch + Nonstop work ‘til 6pm!


Eureka, I have solved the reason why we have a productivity problem in Ghana!

To elaborate on the equation:


Ghanaian Worker + Hot weather +Typical Ghanaian lunch = Lack of productivity for Mother Ghana



So if we could replace “Typical Ghanaian lunch” with “light sandwich lunch” we could in fact reverse the phenomenon and claim our well-deserved position as a middle income country!

Ghanaian Worker + Hot weather + light sandwich lunch = Productivity for Mother Ghana


Of course there is still the problem of the hot weather....



2 comments:

BrownAangel said...

OMG U are hilarious! I just stumbled on your blog and I am hooked. Charle.. MJ (Rest in Peace) a Japanese woman... a little too accurate a description.

And oh yes... I tried to get my coworkers to join me in my salad and sandwich lunches. They scoffed at me and have left me feeling rather inadequate since I don't join in the carb rich lunches.

Abena Serwaa said...

Thanks BrownAangel! So interesting that I thought about the Japanese woman transition comment here after we lost MJ and felt kinda bad...

Good for you on the salads/sandwich lunches! I'm also attempting to bring salads to work for lunch in an attempt to reduce my carb intake and waistline. My coworkers laugh about it and are fascinated that I'm eating "leaves"!