 Hello everyone and welcome to another video. Welcome back, we are here. It's been a long long time. I think it's been two weeks. By the time you see this video it would have been two weeks since we last posted the video. And this is me plus you is us. And my name is Quame. My name is Elaine. And today as you can see from the title we're going to talk or we're going to do a little card game. Well, I made it. How might. So we talk a lot about culture and differences and how sometimes we clash. But we've also been talking about the things we've learned from each other's culture and how it kind of enriches our lives. So I thought it would be cool to. Okay, it's been a long time coming. So Quame said like I haven't lived in Netherlands. I don't have so many examples. Well, I have not lived lived. I've visited a couple of times. Yes, for longer. So like a month or a month at most or five weeks at most. So it's not a lot to have a very strong opinion. Yeah, so then I came up with like I came up with a few topics that I think will guide us through like the things we've learned from each other's culture. Yeah, so how are we going to go about it? You decide you created the cards. I can do the first one and then you go. So you go pick, pick, pick, pick, pick, pick, pick, pick, pick. I want to pick. All right, let's go. All right. The first one, I'm sure Quame will put it in the screen. Greetings. Yes, please. I think this one is kind of obvious. So in Ghana, or at least according to my experience, greetings is very important. So whenever you enter a room or enter a new space or even on the streets, people want to greet you, acknowledge you. And there's even different ways of greeting a person. If it's an older person, you can greet but not ask anything. Yeah. And it's always important to say, please. Or when you ask something, could you please? I think please is please goes with everything. Please, could you please, please? Please, please is a negative. I write work emails and I count the names of number of times I add please. And it's a lot. No, please. Yes, please. Sorry, please. I beg, please. Please, please, please. And I think the angle of the greetings is also when you go to a new place, for example, that acknowledgement you mentioned also makes people more susceptible to helping you if you get in trouble or if you need to find a place. So if you walk through a place, not smiling at anybody, not greeting anybody and you get lost, chances of finding the place or asking people for help. It's going to be very difficult. You're just going to look at you like when you walked here, you didn't greet. So who are you? Yeah. Yeah. But even in my workplace. So previously I worked more in like a Dutch workplace. But now I work in a more like Ghanaian or at least they're working many Africans from different parts of the continent. And oh my in the morning, the rounds of good mornings I have to do. It is amazing. Every morning people like everybody comes by and says, good morning. How are you? And I mean, I love the gesture, right? I love that we're trying to, you know, hi, how are you? I'm checking in on you, all these things. But sometimes I just want to get to work. I just want to be back on the computer. I don't want to spend like, I appreciate it, but at the same time, sometimes I just want to get into work more than not somebody coming into my office, being awkward, like how are you? Because sometimes it doesn't flow, right? Yeah. If you do it with everybody, it won't flow with everybody. And that's where I learned about the Dutch culture, that these things are not really necessary in a working space. I mean, every day, not every day, you know, I mean, when you run into somebody, yes, but go round, round, round, round, round, make everybody hard. They just go straight to work, you know. Yeah, we go straight to work. Let me go to work. I learned that my desk opened my laptop. That's sometimes what I want to do. Yeah, so you can you can have colleagues and not necessarily be friendly to the point of, you know, finding out how your home is and how you're doing and all those things. They cut it off and use the time to work. So that's yeah, that was the greetings. Yes, please next. Greetings. Yes, please. Relationship. OK, I mean, that one, I wrote that one, or it's my from was I learned from Ghana. Let's put it that way. So in Netherlands, we are very, I think, if you watch our videos, you've heard this before, but in Netherlands, we are very task oriented, focus on results on getting things down, ticking things of the to-do list. Yeah. And I drive on that because I like to structure things. And I like to take off things like who off my plates. Nice. Yes, yes, yes, I'm productive. But Ghana is really good for me, not good for me because it's challenging for me because it's different than my character. But to focus more on how do we get there? So how are we together making this vlog instead of how do we take it off or to do this and go on to the next thing? Yeah. And it's I feel there's more space and attention for the person. So before we would, if we would be colleagues, for example, before we start work, we do good morning greeting. From the previous one. And then how are you, like how has work been? You check in with each other, small, small. Yeah, and a little bit into family life. And you know, it's shallow, not deep, if you don't want to talk, but they find out how maybe your kids are, if you have a spouse, like, how's everything going? Yeah. So it makes it much more relaxed in the end. Yeah, more personal. Yeah, more personal. And I like in Ghana, it has two sides, because it's also because there's sometimes chaos because there's no system in place. So that makes it more unexpected. But it also forces you to be more focused on the process. So the journey towards it. So Ghana taught me to pace myself and focus on, like, the relationship more, how do you build something together, instead of just getting there as quickly as possible and going on about my day. And I still struggle with that, because sometimes at work I'm like, can we just get this done? It's not difficult. And then I'm like, OK, this is my Dutch brain. I have to switch it off because we're in Ghana. Yeah, but I will go for the Dutch side of things, whereby in terms of relationship, they don't have to have a relationship with you to be able to tolerate you as a colleague. Yeah, that's true. Yeah, so being task-oriented, we can work together. We can be efficient together without necessarily being friends, which has its advantages and disadvantages. However you look at it, the Ghana one works to some extent. And some extent it also will waste a bit of time and also blur some lines in how you approach people when it comes to maybe your colleague is slacking. But because you have a much more personal relationship with them, it is more difficult to confront them. Whereas in Netherlands or Dutch people would be about a task. I can finish scolding you as a colleague or telling you my peace of mind as a colleague. And then later on we're going to have a beer and laugh. It's not work, it's outside work. That's the thing in Ghana, I feel the professional. So in Netherlands you can give feedback on the person's professional attitude and performance. Yes, and then I can still vibe with you as a person. But in Ghana it's very intertwined. When I give feedback on a professional level, it is difficult. People take it very personal. They take it personal and it's difficult. For me that is difficult because I can like you as a person but if your work is not up to what I expect or I have to give you feedback, I will do that. Because it will make you better in the end. But that's not always how people look at it. Anyway, nice layered answer. Next. Okay. Picking. Cycling. I'll go first. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So cycling. It relates to the Netherlands, right? Yes, it's very Dutch. So much so that I think they are one of, if not the most efficient cycling nation in the world. Yeah, I think they are the most. And I want to add that where I'm from, Uten, Houten, has been awarded with the best cycling city for like a long time in a row. See, so yeah, cycling is something that I learned from the Dutch in improving their transportation or the efficiency of their transportation. And I think it also works for them because, well, generally, European weather is not the same as we do here. Even if we had a lot of cycling lanes in Ghana, I think that most corporate spaces would also have to have, make available showers. Yeah, in Ghana for sure. Yeah, maybe a shower and changing room. Because even if we have that level of efficiency with our cycling as a culture, by the time you finish cycling to work, you'll be sweaty. You're drenched. So you need to go and shower at work and change. So yeah, it also speaks to their efficiency and their way of thinking in terms of solution-orientedness because they think of different options and they build it in such a way that it's lasting generations. Yeah, so they take their time to decide on things, but when they do, it's very efficient. So yeah. But can I ask you something? Yeah. What was it for you to cycle in Netherlands, like, experience-wise as a human? Like, what did you see? What did you do? Like, did it feel comfortable? As a human? Yes. I don't know what else you could be, but... As a robot? Yeah. I like efficiency. OK, so as a human, it was the culture shock. It was one of my culture shocks. But what exactly? There were rules on the road because here when we're cycling, we're just cycling for the sport of it or to move from one place to another in a way that, I mean, you are sharing a road with cars or maybe an off-road something, you know, path. And it's fine. But there were literally rules. So that's where my culture shock came in. You have to signal when you're going left. You have to stop at the traffic light. You have to be in your own cycling lane even. Yeah. So, yeah, cycling there and cycling almost everywhere was also challenging for me because that's a lot of exercise that you're doing every single day. And I had a couple of experiences with her in cycling where we had to share one bicycle and I was like... We are not good at that. No. Let's put it that way. I cannot do one bicycle and sitting on the back or cycling with her. Sorry for the noisy neighborhood. Yeah. Yeah, we're in a noisy neighborhood. So forgive us. I cannot do that. So I enjoyed cycling to some extent. Oh, that's a loud truck. I enjoy cycling to some extent. Not with sharing a bike. Not with sharing a bike. And I think I also need to stay in the lens for a while to adapt to it. So, yeah. Especially for me, it was really nice to see Kwame cycle and in the end... I mean, he likes to walk more than cycling. But for me, it felt nice to share that experience of cycling because that's how we grow up. Like, ever since you are a child, you will learn how to cycle and then you'll go anywhere. Yeah. So for me, it was nice to share. Okay, next one. You're picking. Please. You had two, actually. I wanted slides. Wow, okay. Yes. Okay, communal meals. Beep, beep. I mean like this one I wrote or from Ghana. Meals in general and food in general in Ghana is very important. Meals are important everywhere. No, in Netherlands we'll eat a sandwich for lunch and behind our desk and quickly we go back to work. In Ghana, please, food is life, food is life. So what do you mean by communal meals? So, wait, I'm coming, okay? Also something very Ghanaian I've learned. I'm coming. It's really something people look forward to. Like, lunch is a big thing. In the workplace, it's a big thing. What are you eating today? How are you eating today? It's like, in the Netherlands we talk a lot about the weather because it's very unpredictable, right? So you're always like, oh, the weather is bad today. Yeah, it's really bad today. In Ghana, you talk about food. What have you had? And whenever I'm in Ubo, I meet somebody new, a Ghanaian, and I've said that I've been there. They start asking me, have you had food? Have you had this? Have you had this? I say yes sir, we think and they are so surprised. It's a big thing, food, yeah? And the communal thing is, for example, you can share, I've never done that in my life, share like a foo foo bowl and eat together. Or share, I think, share a bankoo, right? Rice balls, kinky, kinky especially. Yeah, so you share. And then you have this tradition or habit. So, Ghanaians will always invite you. So when somebody's eating and I'm coming, you say you're invited. Yes. Most of the times, 99% of the times, they don't mean you are invited for real. But at least like the idea of having a communal and a community. And it's also polite. My food is your food. In Nellis, we don't do that. My bread is my bread. Don't touch. There's no such thing as sharing like a communal meal. But in Ghana, hey, the bread is big enough. Because of the fact that people invite people and hope that they say no, actually. But I have had some instances that people, that I said to somebody that you're invited and I said, oh, I'm okay. They said like, no, no, no, no, no, you're really invited. Yeah, and then you can sit down and you know. So I always double check, especially if people are not so close to me. I check like, oh, are you for sure you want to share? If you don't want to be literal or if you don't know the person you're inviting is a literal person as in they take everything you're saying literally, please don't say you're invited if you're not ready. And people find it funny that I also do it, especially at work. So when they come into the kitchen or I'm preparing my meal, I sit down and say, you're invited. People are like, oh, oh, like. Yeah, because this girl knows. Yeah, because they didn't expect that from you. Yeah. No, you go, you go twice. Okay. Efficiency and planning. Yeah, I had mentioned that a bit in the previous especially with the cycling and everything. So that's one thing that I've learned from the Dutch culture. They take a while also learning from, so I'm going from personal to like project based. So they take a while to decide. Most Dutch people I've encountered take a while to decide on things. But when they do, that's because most of the time they're spending a lot of the time on research, on thinking through, on like, you know, deciding options, planning, what works, what doesn't work. I mean, how people react to it or how will I feel about it in the end? And then when that decision is like finally gotten or they come to the point of their planning and the research and everything, they go, go, go, go, go. And it's very efficient. And it's usually also very long term. From her, I'm not saying speaking for every Dutch person, from her personal experience or as far as I know, when we were even deciding to be together, it took a while for her to... I had to do some research. And soul searching and, you know, aligning your heart and mind. Thinking through things is definitely... It took a while for her to, you know, decide whether or not... But when she committed, here we are seven years later. So, yeah, and her previous relationship was even five years before she met me. So I know that with efficiency and planning is a Dutch thing. I'm not saying all Dutch people who commits five years into relationships or whatever it is. That's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying that. That's just being... With their engineering, with being, I mean, like, geography-wise, where the country is situated. Yeah, even if you fly above Netherlands, you see these squares, like... Maybe you can even put it in the edit. So, an above side from the Netherlands, you see, like, everything is super planned. Just do... I don't know how to find it. Are you going to put the picture right there? Okay. Better edit that well. You see, everything is super structured and planned. But for me, I'm wondering, how was it for you, especially in the beginning? Because I can be somebody who's quite trying to do things efficiently and taking off boxes. It was... No, okay. So when it comes to that, taking off boxes, it became a bit too... Rigid? Yes. And yeah, robotic in my opinion, in that sense. Yeah, so activity-based taking off boxes is a bit too much for me. But in terms of how the city runs... Then you enjoy it. Oh yeah, it was a breath... Then it's not rigid at all. No, it was a breath of fresh air to know that, yo, buses, this time, when they say it's 11 or 40 something... Yeah, for you, it's really nice. At most, it's going to be two minutes late. And I have an issue with lateness and timeliness. Yeah. I don't know how to turn that switch off for me. So to go to a country where everything was on time, the most delay I would have in public transportation was five minutes. And I was like, wow. So the efficiency and the planning was spot-on for me. Sometimes we are a bit rigid. Yeah, but when it comes to putting that same efficiency and planning into activities, like holiday activities... Yeah, so today we're going here, we're doing this. At 11, we'll drink this beer and we'll do this. And we'll eat here, but... Great. Okay, can we just like, you know... Chill. Yeah, and be spontaneous a little bit. Like, oh, this is nice. Let's try it. Boom. Makes for good memories than to plan your day and possibly miss. So you miss out on things. You mix out on better stories, spontaneous things, good memories when you over plan. That's my opinion. Oh, I agree. I think, for me, that's what being in Ghana taught me. Yeah. To be more spontaneous and like not beat every spontaneity out of the day. Yeah. And sometimes it's frustrating, yes. But sometimes you also get the best experiences from it when you just see how the day goes. Life happens when you're busy planning. Yeah, I guess that's a Dutch thing. I don't know. Life happens. So, the real things are happening when you're actually busy planning and trying to stay on top. This one is yours. Solution oriented. Yes. Show the people. Solution oriented. So, yeah, that's one thing I've learned from the Dutch culture. Fix, fix, fix is also the theme. It's also tied to efficiency and planning. Dutch engineering is one of the best in the world. The sea was claiming land, but they've been able to find solutions to stop the sea from claiming land, and they've even claimed more land from the sea and everything. It's crazy, actually. And this was, I don't know which century, but this wasn't in modern times. No, they did it way back. So, they're very solution oriented. They're always finding a way to solve an issue the best way possible. So, yeah, it's something I really appreciate about Dutch culture. And it's also with her as well as a person. I think that's a compliment. Yeah, she's more solution oriented than I am. But honestly, can I say something about Ghana as opposite? I think Ghanaians are also very creative and innovative. Because, yes, the Dutch people are solution oriented. But on the other hand, in Ghana, not everything works the way it should work. So, you already find ways to work. And it's more creative than in the Netherlands. Because in the Netherlands, you kind of build on top of the working, I don't say, yeah, there's a blueprint. Let's put it like that. And in Ghana, sometimes the blueprint is a bit shattered. Like, it's there, but it's not there, or it's there, but it works differently. And then people still get to make, like, they do what they want to do despite of that sometimes not everything is in place. So, I like that resilience as well. It's a different kind of solution oriented. But I admire it. Yeah. Yeah. So, I think we are... I agree. Both. I agree. Like, we find a fixes, like our own creative fixes. Like, almost everything is a challenge. And then you have to figure out, you know, a DIY solution. Yes, that's the word now. That's the phrase I was looking for. A DIY solution to things. You know, patch it up and see, okay, we'll go here, go there, go there. In Ghana, no is never the answer. There's always, even, okay, it's a very small thing, but I appreciate it. So, sometimes I take both to work, but I was out of cash. I was like, okay, let's stop at the ATM. Now, come to the ATM, the ATM is not working. I'm like, there's no other ATM on my route. So, I came into the boat. I said, sorry, like the ATM is not working. And it's like, oh, you can do Momo. Like, oh, okay, cool. So, like, people really switch quickly to another, like, oh, okay, this doesn't work. If that wouldn't work, we would go to the other ATM. If you give a taxi driver this thing too big a note and they can't find change, they quickly get out and go to the room and telling this, like, you know, change this for me quickly and you know. So, yeah. So, there's also that. We all find our solutions. Anyway, this one, I'm scared to talk about. This is not necessarily what, okay, yeah, I'll learn from your culture, but I don't necessarily like it. So, Kwame calls it eye surface. So, the fact this happens especially in an office environment, so to say. So, people keep an eye on what you are doing, what time you come in, what time do you leave? Does it look like you're working? Yeah. People, honestly, I didn't know. People really monitor my WhatsApp status. When I put something on Instagram, everybody comes to me like, hey, you're enjoying it, I'm enjoying it. And I'm like, oh, like sometimes, and or the same with when I go for a walk in the neighborhoods, nine out of 10 times, I come home and Kwame says, oh, this person saw you, oh, this person saw you. What is this? Like, I'm not necessarily liking that because it makes me very self-aware. Yeah. Also, I mean, in the neighborhoods, I'm like, why are you watching me? Why are you calling my husband that he sees me? He knows I'm walking the dog or jogging. So, why do you need to tell somebody that you saw me? Even though maybe it's also something to reach out, like, oh, I saw your wife, how are you? Like that thing. So, it's also a reminder. But in a workplace, for me, it's very difficult because productivity, for me, I know when I'm most productive. Right? But in Ghana, you have this kind of old school, sorry to say, I think it's old school, kind of that if you're in the office, you are working. If you're out of the office, you're not working. You're not working. Yeah, that's what I was waiting for you to see. However, for my position, so I'm a business developer, if I would be in the office, I would be a bad business developer. I need to be out there meeting people. Forming relationships. Yeah, like, and that doesn't always happen in the office. Of course, we have team calls. We have Zoom calls. I do that too, but the in-person interactions are very important. So when I go for lunch, it's not enjoyment. Of course, I'm happy to go for lunch. Yeah, but lunch is also very functional. Yes, I meet a possible person, like a possible partner. Yeah. And then people say, oh, enjoyments. I'm like, ah. Yeah. And I'm getting so tired of explaining because I'm done explaining. So my supervisor knows how I work, what works for me. If I go to a meeting, she can look it up in my agenda. She knows I'm not chilling. So I'm done explaining the eye service thing. So it's just more like people here, for example, we stay in the office extra hours just so their boss can see that they are committed to working or they are working hard. Like, they seem to be doing something. That's not efficiency. That's not productivity, in my opinion. People like to make people think or it seems, yeah. You know, the facade to seem that, ah, such a hard worker. He's here at 6 a.m. and he's leaving at 8 p.m. Bruh, you can be here at 6 a.m. and leave at 8 p.m. And then don't do jack. And I can come at 9 to 4 and do twice as much as you did. So yeah, people like eye service a lot. And also, it doesn't make sense, especially in this context, right? Accra, there's always traffic. So people will see me leave work at 4. That's when we close. You know I leave at 4. If I leave 10 minutes later, I'll be in traffic. So anything I have to do, I'll bring it home. But those people in the office don't see what I do at home. You get me? So I think this eye service thing, it sometimes balances with being judgmental, the keeping an eye on each other and having an opinion about it. While you have this much information about somebody, honestly, for me, this kind of thing told me to be less judgmental and more asking questions. Oh wow, you're going out. What are you up to? What kind of meeting? I'm interested. Instead of judging like, oh, this person's already going. Why? And honestly, please, rest. No, but I know people like to show off how much they work, I understand. But please, rest is also productive. Close your laptop, go home, spend time with your family, revive yourself. The next day, you will kick ass at work. Instead of staying, looking if your boss is looking and you're there to tell it. There's not people's calls if you ask me as well. I'm not blaming anybody. I know that the culture is there. Yeah. It's also come from a space where people also grew from maybe lower ranks to higher ranks. And that's what they've seen their bosses do. So when they become bosses, they expect that they see their workers at all the subordinates at work all the time. And they keep an eye on it and they think there are people who stay longer at work at working. I understand. I understand where it comes from. We have the same thing in Ireland, so the 95 thing is very important. But please, we've lived through COVID. We've worked from home. We've showed we can be productive anywhere. A lot of businesses have shown they can be very productive, especially the service industry. Yes. So this is my call to be less judgmental and look more at ask yourself as well. Be curious. Think about what people are gonna be watching. That's fine. When are you most productive? Yeah. Figure that out for yourself. When are you really putting like, like, yeah, I'm on a roll. And then milk that and do as much as possible. Look at your results and not only your hours. You're not there to sit there. You are there to work. Do the work. Yeah. And not this eye service thing. Okay, round over. Hi, Kavri. How's it going? So the video is becoming a bit long and so what we're gonna do is to break this video in two parts, but one and two. So if you're watching the video up to the point where I'm introducing this right now, this is the end of part one and look forward to part two. Hang in there for part two.