Akwaaba: A musician in GHANA

Back, safe, sound and cold

2009-03-15T16:04:00.000-07:00

After 25 hours of traveling from Thursday to Friday (and 2 movies later!), I've made it back to the US...it's still a bit overwhelming being home. Right now I'm just trying to process the entire experience. And I'm cold. But I'm glad to be back in the land of hot showers, sandwhiches, reliable internet, and March Madness (even if IU blew it this year...let's go Pitt!).

I'm seriously missing a lot of things in Ghana. We'll see if I'm able to get back, but I hope it's sooner rather than later. Hopefully I'll be able to do something truly worthwhile that reflects all that I've learned and gained from living in Ghana the past 6 months.

All the 400 pictures are now on Facebook. Enjoy! I'll try to be in touch with everyone...

The Final Post from Ghana

2009-03-10T01:26:00.000-07:00

The time has come for me to return to leave Ghana. I'll be flying home Thursday and arrive in Pittsburgh Friday night. The last days have been busy, I'm not sure how, but busy. My neighbors organized a party at our housing compound on Sunday, and many of my friends were able to come. It was a nice get together, and even the late afternoon rain didn't dampen the spirit.

As this is my final post proper, I've compiled some statistics for you:
No. of tro-tros ridden: 450 (rough estimate)
No. of vehicle accidents: 3
No. of times the tro-tro broke down: 3
No. of days power was out for at least an hour: 45 out of 190 (rough estimate)
No. of days with no running water: 50 out of 190 (rough estimate)
No. of cockroaches that crawled up my legs in tro-tros: 2
No. of ants on my bedsheet one night after being hung out to dry: 110 (rough estimate)
No. of times the ATM machine didn't properly dispense my money: 2
No. of times finding a way to break up a 10 Cedi bill into smaller bills caused a mini-crisis: 70
No. of times I danced "Agbadza" with old ladies: 14
No. of "rasta men" who sang songs about Black power to me on tro-tros: 2
No. of times people gave me bad directions: 60 (rough estimate)
No. of people who gave me rides in their personal car, free, while I was waiting for tro-tro: 11
No. of people who helped me out: so, so many

And now, some parting thoughts...
I will miss the turkeys, cats, lizards, and nocturnal toads that roam my backyard.

I will not miss killing dangerously large spiders, rogue lizards, and cockroaches in my house.

I will miss the warm weather (not for too long).

I will not miss insanely loud frogs and invasive ant armies.

I will miss tasty meals for only $1.50 and haircuts for $2.

I will miss the plentiful fresh fruit and juices (no sugar or preservatives), especially coconuts (my current favorite), tangerines, pineapple and oranges.

I will miss eating food with my hands (or maybe I will continue this...). I will miss a lot of the food here, especially fresh akpele with ochre stew with crunchy little fishes, roasted plantains, yam fufu and fried yams.

I am excited to eat hamburgers, pizza and salad (yay America).

I will miss plentiful, cheap public transport.

I will miss the sounds of the lorry station, the calls of mates proclaiming their destination (Madina Old Road Road Road Road Road!), and the ubiquitous merchandise sellers roaming every nook and cranny of the station (Yes! Pure Wata! Yes! Hankie! Yes! Orange!).

I will not miss the ridiculous traffic, the absolute disaster that is "rush hour" from 5-8:30 from Mon-Sat, including long queues to get a car and mobs of people swarming approaching transit, and the rough dirt roads taken to "dodge" traffic.

I will not miss bargaining and/or arguing with taxi drivers over the fare (no meter).

I am excited to drive my own car.

I will miss getting up early and washing my clothes by hand (didn't think I'd ever say this).

I will not miss frequent power outages and no running water.

I will not miss the smell of raw sewage from open gutters, trash anywhere and everywhere, and no proper sidewalks to walk on.

I am excited to flush a toilet, take a hot shower, play a decent piano, watch the NFL (okay, I'll have to wait for this one), and go to a proper library.

I am sad to leave my friends here, very sad, but excited to see my friends and family at home.

I will not miss the calls of "obruni!", the chants of enthusiastic children "obruni ko ko! obruni ko ko!", and babies staring at me in curiousity for an entire tro-tro ride (seriously, it makes you really uncomfortable).

I will not miss standing out and attracting unwanted attention, and being approached by strangers who "want to be my friend" and get my phone number and visit me at my house.

I will miss the frequent extended talks with my landlord about life, the universe and everything (mostly he does the talking), with advice on such things as "time, treasure and talent", "planning, preparation and persecution", etc. Maybe just a little.

I will miss my neighbors: relaxing and enjoying coconuts with Simon while he teaches me a bit of the local languages, drinking Star beer and chopping fufu with Beotang (aka: Boat), and watching "Touched by an Angel" at 6pm on Sunday, over fresh food and tea, with Solomon, Peace, Naomi and Mawuli.

I will not miss answering the most commonly asked question from Ghanaians, always asked in a slow, overly ponderous way: "So...how...do you...see...Ghana?" or "So...how...does life in Ghana compare...to the US".

I will not miss the frequent requests for money and other dubious favors from many people, even my friends.

I will miss the laid back lifestyle, where people take time to enjoy life, but I will not miss "African time" (I'll be there at 3pm means anytime from 5-9pm) and the occasional impossibility of planning or structuring a day.

I will miss the music, singing and dancing here very very much, including highlife songs on a tro-tro where maybe someone is singing along, the traditional songs at church services, and the traditional music at funerals, festivals and on campus.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to study Ghana's music and culture, which has been truly amazing and in some ways revelatory for me, and especially thankful for my drumming/dancing teacher, who has been as good or better than I could have possibly ever hoped for.

I am thankful for knowing what I want to achieve in music, even if doing it will be hard.

I am thankful to have lived abroad for some time, to have understood more about not only Ghana but about the US and the world, and myself, and for the great times and the hardships, which I hope has made me a stronger, better and more interesting person. God bless Ghana.

Can't wait to see you all!!! All the best.....

Yes I traveled

2009-03-02T07:26:00.000-08:00

So I finally made the long trip to Northern Ghana and the Ashanti region. It was quite extraordinary...some amazing moments and some rough spots. But all in all, I made it back unscathed (even if I'm sick yet again...cursed contaminated food/water), with plenty of pictures and great memories.

Monday: I left the house a little after 12pm to go to the bus station. The bus left at 3:30, remarkably only 30 minutes after the scheduled departure time. I quietly braced myself for a grueling 12-hour bus ride, but was ill prepared for the blaring Nigerian movies for a good part of the trip. Thanks to these movies (please, never, never, NEVER subject yourself to them, I repeat, never), and the riotous laughing of the passengers to many of the comical scenes in the movie (which unfortunately I wasn't "getting"), sleep was virtually impossible. But the bus was modern, fairly comfortable, air-conditioned, and made several rest stops along the way.

The arrival time in Tamale, the main city in the North, was slated for 5am, but we made such good time that we got to Tamale at 2:30am! This was much earlier than I had planned, so I ended up reading/shutting my eyes on a bench at the bus station. It was not a very pleasant start to the trip, and I found myself wondering what in the world I was doing in a completely unfamiliar area by myself at 3am. Luckily several other people were in the same predicament, and a police officer was nearby (even if he was dozing off), so I felt safe, although tired.

Tuesday: At about 6am, when it got light, I started to walk around the city of Tamale (aka "T-town"). It has a completely different feel from the daunting urbanization and modernity of Accra...there is minimal traffic since most people ride bicycles and motorbikes, and overall the city has a much more provincial feel (to paraphrase from the guidebook). I had an amazing breakfast of bread/butter and tea, which tasted so good you can't even imagine, due to hunger and fatigue from lack of sleep. I walked to the city center, through the central market, past the Grand Mosque, caught a glimpse of a brand new football stadium, and met a girl who took me to her clothing store where I hung out for about an hour. Somehow I found a library, a rarity in Ghana, that was cool, quiet and had a small collection of good books.

My next step was to board a bus to Mole National Park, about 4 hours from Tamale. Luckily I met a fellow traveler from California, so we passed the time chatting while we waited 2 hours for the bus to arrive. Even though there were assigned seats on the bus, and tickets had to be purchased before boarding, it was mayhem boarding the bus. People were shouting at the conductor and driver even after we finally got going. The ride was pretty bumpy and unpleasant but we made it to the park at about 7:30pm. I was able to get a bed in a 6-bed dorm for $7. It had running water and a ceiling fan, and taking a proper shower was a huge luxury for me!! I slept very well that night.

Wednesday: I awoke early in the morning and was greeted by a troop of baboons that live nearby the motel. Then I went on a guided safari walk which lasted about 3 hours. It was pretty amazing...it started slow, as animals were scarce, but soon I saw plenty of birds, including a group of huge vultures, warthogs, waterbuck (large deer), and 3 elephants!! I was about 200 feet away from the elephants, who went for a swim in a watering hole. I've seen elephants in the zoo before, but this had a much more "raw" feel to it. After a complimentary breakfast, I went swimming in the pool (this also felt quite luxurious). I met a group of 10 travelers from Denmark who had hired a car/driver and were going out for a safari drive in the afternoon, so I tagged along. On the drive we saw lots of waterbuck, a huge herd of buffalo (which apparently was a rare sight), and another elephant. Pretty sweet.

That night I relaxed at the motel. It had a very different feel to the rest of my time in Ghana, because I felt like a genuine tourist. Most of the people at the park were "obruni" travelers, and I met a man from Holland, 2 guys from Sweden, 15 people from Denmark (who were all super experienced travelers), a group of 4 girls from US, UK, Canada and Australia, and 4 girls from Germany. All were really cool people, but I felt a bit detached from them, because I've had such a different experience from the standard "tourist" or volunteer. But everyone was really interesting, and the group from Denmark miraculously was going to the same places as me on Friday, which meant I could ride with them in their hired van.

Thursday: So instead of traveling back to Tamale (partly the wrong direction), and then spending a night in Techiman, I got to stay at Mole Park an extra day since my Denmark friends were leaving Friday early in the morning. In the morning I walked 6km to Larabanga, a nearby village that has a famous mosque. I hung out with a friend I made the previous night (who's even mentioned prominently in my travel guide), and we shared fufu made from yams, played checkers (called "drafts" in Ghana), went to the famous mosque (built in the 15th century by a traveling Saudi), saw the magic stone, relaxed at a bar, and walked back to the park together. Later in the day I went canoeing with the Denmark crew, but the mosquitoes and dirty river water was too much for a prolonged trip so we only were out for 30 minutes. I went swimming again and relaxed that night at the motel.

Friday: Early in the morning I departed on the hired van with my friends from Denmark. We stopped at a nice waterfall and made it to the "monkey" village at about 1pm. In the village we took a guided tour through a forest where two species of monkeys lived: mona and black-and-white colobus monkeys. The monkeys have thrived in this village because the villagers believe they are sacred animals, and they even bury the monkeys with the same care as a human. The mona monkeys were friendly and some came down to the forest floor, eating bananas thrown to them by the guide. The black-and-white colobus monkeys stayed in the trees but were beautiful animals to watch. It was great fun but far too short: I would have liked to spend the entire afternoon in the company of monkeys, quietly observing them. Also, I got slightly perturbed by our group, who seemed to only want to take as many pictures as possible, then move on to the next "thing", instead of taking their time to enjoy nature with their eyes and not with lens.

Once again we got in the car and arrived in Kumasi, Ghana's 2nd city and capital of the Ashanti kingdom, at about 8pm. It was a long day of driving. I was supposed to meet a friend who would come from Accra and show me around Kumasi over the weekend, but he couldn't come due to money issues. And thanks to my phone inexplicably not working for 3 days (AAAAARGH!!!...it's maybe seriously bad how much we rely on cell phones now) I couldn't call some other friends of mine who could help me out in Kumasi. I ended up spending the night in the motel with the group from Denmark, and at first I was to be in a dorm room but got moved to a single room. What seemed like a nice treat ended up being a disaster: the single room shared a door to another room, and even though I was exhausted from a long drive I was unable to sleep due to my neighbors having a party until 4am, and very very loud noises coming from a nearby building (some strange religious gathering?).

Saturday: I woke up feeling tired, miserable, and unsure of how to proceed, since I couldn't get in touch with anyone to take me around Kumasi. I decided to bypass traveling around with the group from Denmark (they were leaving Sunday, and at all costs I didn't want to spend another night in the motel) and another group of girls I met at Mole who were also in Kumasi (they were leaving that day at 12:30pm, which only allowed 4 hours to be in Kumasi). So I checked out of the motel and went around myself, shouldering my trusty but heavy backpack. It was quite stressful at times, but also enjoyable. First, I walked through Kejetia Market, the largest open air market in West Africa. It was chaotic and hectic beyond belief...crowds of people push and shove in all directions to enter or exit the narrow passages just outside the market, and once inside it's a labyrinth of twisting passages, with sellers of all types of goods summoning your attention.

After briefly visiting Kumasi Tech, a university set on attractive grounds outside the city center, I attempted to get to the Manhiya palace. I must have asked over 15 people how to get there, and got all sorts of conflicting answers and advice. Most Ghanaians are, unfortunately, terrible at giving directions, and won't ever admit that they don't know where something is. Instead they'll say "go this way" overconfidently, even if they have no clue, or confuse you with strange advice. But eventually I met someone who was nice enough to take me via shared taxi to the place (even if she asked for my phone number after we got there, and called me several times that day), and I made it to the Ashanti palace. It was surprisingly low-key, and after I took one quick picture two security guards shouted at me that pictures were forbidden. But I did see several peacocks that reside on the palace grounds, and nearby I saw an Ashanti funeral where traditional dancing and drumming was taking place.

It was getting late, and I was getting tired, so I got on a bus back to Accra and despite the inability to sleep due to yet again blaring Nigerian films (did I mention to never, never, NEVER watch them?) and a 30-minute outbreak of shouting from virtually everyone on the bus (I'm not exactly sure over what), I made it back to my place at about 11:30pm.

Sunday: My relief and happiness at being home was tempered by sickness and no running water. In fact, in the evening tensions between my neighbors/landlord over the 6-month overdue water bill exploded into a violent shouting match. I think it's been cleared up, but this is one aspect of Ghanaian culture I will never understand: many disputes end up becoming shouting matches where no one really listens but just keeps yelling.

Today: After 17 days of no flowing water, it came!!!!!!!!!!! I filled up all of my buckets and am recovering from sickness. I'll be fine tomorrow, and I'll have 10 days to tie up lots of loose ends and make the necessary preparations for my departure on March 12. I'll make one final post before I leave. Can't believe it's almost over.....I hope you are all well and that I get to see you soon.

Afrobeat Rules

2009-02-20T12:26:00.000-08:00

Whoa...just 3 weeks and I'll be returning to the US. I have to say I've really adjusted to life here and feel very comfortable in Ghana. It's going to be seriously tough to leave. But that's not to say there still aren't difficulties: due to a dispute between my neighbors, our water was shut off (due to over 8 months of unpaid water bills) so I haven't had running water for maybe 8 days now. And I still regularly meet people "befriend" me on the street, and then want to come visit me at my home, or take me around for a day so I can "learn more about Ghana", or other such things. I have to make up excuses why I don't hang out with strangers. So while I'll be relieved to go (a hot shower is going to be unbelievable), I'll also be very sad to leave my friends and the culture here.

Now I want to brag that I saw Seun Kuti live in concert with members of the Egypt 80 band. If you don't know, Seun Kuti is one of the son's of the legendary late Fela Kuti (whose band was Egypt 80), a Nigerian afrobeat/jazz pioneer who composed hits, played sax, had 27 wives, and made uncompromising political and cultural proclamations in his music putting him in constant trouble with the police. Apparently most of his sons are musicians (they started by playing in his band) who play sax, and Seun Kuti very much modeled his music and vibe after his father. The electricity in the air before it started was palpable...there were so many people packed in to see the show (mostly obrunis). The band entered, and started with a sweet guitar lick, followed by a bari sax solo, and soon the groove was flowing nonstop. The band consisted of about 13 people, with a rhythm section, additional percussion, and 4 horns. Some of the band had t-shirts proclaiming "Afrobeat Rules".

After the first song, Seun Kuti came out accompanied by beautiful women and once again the music was grooving so hard that it was impossible to sit still. Luckily I was able to make my way to the dance floor and let loose for the rest of the concert. I spent lots of time staring open-mouthed two women onstage, because they "shook their booty" to the music with unheard of skill...the sheer physical act seemed to defy the laws of what's possible, and they were able to keep it going for a long time. All in all the concert was crazy fun...not particularly groundbreaking musically but tight, locked in and sweet. I guess I just love to dance to music that grooves hard...Wow. I won't forget that night.

Speaking of dancing, I've gotten better "small small" and now I'm wrapping things up with my teacher. I'm learning some traditional songs that accompany performances of drumming and dancing. And I've been going to a couple of studios in Accra to help people out with keyboard solos and harmonies. A few nights ago myself and two friends were mostly just messing around until we came up with a song that has real potential. I can't reveal too much but we will be finishing it up tomorrow and marketing it to some local radio stations. So I'm hoping before I leave I'm getting radioplay in Ghana...

As I've been in Ghana for some time now, I've really expanded my vision of what I want to achieve as a musician, and loosened things up a bit. In graduate school I experienced a bit of tunnel vision, thinking that I was going to be a "classical art music composer" who could play a little jazz and funk, and was so focused on learning the classical repertoire, and writing music with no words for various combinations of instruments that I couldn't play. But now I realize that I love to sing, I love to dance, and I love to perform. So I want to incorporate all of this into a band that combines some of the diverse music I love. The band should make you want to sing, and dance, and I will be onstage as part of the performance. I don't know how I'm going find the right people and put everything together, but I have a clear vision and that's the most important part.

I'll be taking a week long trip soon, so I'll let you know all about that once I return. Take care.

Dance dance revolution

2009-01-28T04:57:00.000-08:00

Update: I am no longer the world's worst handwasher. I've spent many hours washing all of my clothes, towels and sheets at least once, if not several times, and now I have attained the coveted status of world's 2nd-to-worst handwasher.

Not much is new here. But I have started learning some traditional dances in earnest, and they are killing me. I have an increased respect for all dancers, especially from Ghana. The amount of muscle strength, fitness and sheer energy it takes to dance well is insane, and I have to confess that my illusions of being in good shape have been thoroughly dispelled. Often I am seriously tired after dancing for more than 15 minutes. My teacher usually just laughs at me when I am gasping for air in our lessons. But "small-small" I will build up endurance.

I continue to practice drumming, teach jazz piano haphazardly to a few students, try new foods (well, I haven't tried cowsfeet yet), get frustrated by traffic, and roam the streets of Accra looking for traditional music. I also took a trip with a friend up to a botanical garden in the mountains, and we spent a couple of hours exploring a jungle nearby. We ignored a sign stating all guests should travel with a guide, and there may have been 10 minutes when I actually thought we were lost in the deep jungle, but luckily we managed to get back alive and well. It was refreshing to be surrounded by the peace and quiet of nature, as I am surrounded by the bustle of Accra's hectic urban atmosphere.

Oh, before I forget, HERE WE GO STEELERS!!!!!!! Too bad I can't watch the Super Bowl.

I continue to get requests for money, marriage, and friendship. One girl near my house wants me to take photos of her and parade them around the streets of the US, looking for a potential husband to come and marry her, then wisk her away to the paradise of the US (it reminds me of some show that I saw a snippet of: someone takes pictures of their relative and shows them to people on the street to see if they'll date them...can't remember the name). So if there are any guys looking for that "special Ghanaian" please let me know. Otherwise, take care.

Lets go shopping

2009-01-13T06:20:00.000-08:00

One of the most fascinating aspects of Ghana is its commerce. Say you are in a tro-tro at the station waiting for it to fill up, or you are stuck in traffic. Many many people will pass by selling all sorts of merchandise that ranges from essentials such as water to completely random items such as CD organizers, mops, soccer balls, and dead grasscutter (basically a big groundhog). Often they are balancing their goods on their head, allowing easy access from the window of a tro-tro or bus. And no matter what they are selling, they will be constantly yelling out the product name to attract attention, like vendors at a baseball game. You might here:

Pure wata!! (Pure water)
Hssssssss! (fast) Hankie hankie hankie hankie hankie facetowel facetowel (Handkerchiefs)
Ti-got! (Yogurt, it took me a long time to understand this one)
Hssssssss! Mentos. PK. (gum)
Buh froot! (essentially a donut)
(fast) Pen pen pen pen pen pen pen pen pen. (pen)
Bees-cut Bees-cut Bees-cut. (biscuit, either cookies or crackers)

On long trips there are certain stations where tro-tros stop for the driver to take a rest or maybe get some petrol. When the tro-tro slows down, people rush it, mobbing and surrounding it, thrusting bread in through the windows, and fish, and plantain chips. It's how I assume many people make a living, in this wildly competitive, cut-throat environment (there might be 10 people selling basically the same loaves of bread at one spot). This got me thinking, how awesome would it be if McDonalds and Starbucks strategically placed people selling fries and coffee to congested areas during rush hour? Or Walmart could have people selling school supplies in August...hmmm, I might have to work out a business proposal for this....

There is one person I often pass selling used remote controls and a globe. I mean, this guy seriously makes a living selling a plastic globe. I wonder how many he's sold...can you support a family selling plastic globes? Not too far away from the globe man, I once saw a guy holding about 20 or so gaskets for various cars. He would then announce the name of each passing car in a monotone voice (Opel Kaddett....Toyota Hilux....Mazda 626....Mercedes Benz), I guess in an effort to show he had a part for that car. It was very strange, especially since some of the cars he identified had their windows up, and couldn't hear him.

Now, there are many shops around that more closely resemble "stores" as we might think of them, but there are also many places outside on the street or at transport stations where you can buy almost anything. You might see a "shoe store" where about 50 shoes are arranged on a blanket on the street, or a "furniture store" where all of the couches and chairs are outside on the grass. There are no fixed prices, so you have to bargain and its always an issue for me since I'm an obruni, and will automatically get a high initial quote from sellers. Sometimes these people are VERY aggressive, walking right up to you and maybe even grabbing your hand to try to pull you into their "store". It can be a hassle but it's also part of the Ghanaian experience...it definitely provides a unique shopping experience, and once you know where to go to buy what you want, and have an idea of the price, then it's kind of fun.

And now let me answer a few questions submitted by my illustrious readers:

What wildlife have you seen in Ghana?
Contrary to what some of you might think, I'm not surrounded by antelopes, monkeys and lions. In fact, most Ghanaians will never see a lion in the wild, and even antelopes are uncommon in the coastal Southern regions that are the most densely populated. Common animals are what we would consider as farm animals, such as goats, cows, turkeys, cats, dogs, and pigeons. Many of these are "pets" are contained in their owners property by fences (almost all houses are fenced in with concrete walls to deter thieves) or tied to ropes. You might be walking in a residential area and see a herd of 10 goats being tended by their owner. Also common are lizards (they are FAST), huge toads and frogs that come out at night (and are frieking LOUD in large numbers), mosquitoes, cockroaches, spiders, vultures, hawks and other cool birds I can't properly identify. I've seen monkeys only twice, as many of them have been hunted or driven from most built up areas. But I'm planning a big trip up north in March to visit a national park that typically features elephants, antelope, and lots of other animals, so I'll see a lot more wildlife on this trip (and partially fulfill my secret childhood dream of traveling to Madagascar to see lemurs).

What is the status of women in Ghana?
This is a complicated question, and I don't pretend to have a great understanding of it, but I think a lot of it has to do with where you are in the country. In more traditional villages, women are associated with more traditional types of work (cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, etc), but in Accra and other major cities there are many women working in high powered jobs. Often in more prestigious businesses, such as banks, news broadcasting stations and immigration services, there are many women. In fact, I've seen way more female cops in Ghana than in the US. Ghana just elected its first female speaker of Parliament, basically the counterpart of Nancy Pelosi. In the commercial sector I described above (targeted chaotic street selling) there are certain items most often sold by women (water, most foods) and others most often sold by men (hankies, watches, yogurt). And in traditional music, there are hardly any women drummers (they dance and sing), but there are male dancers. But generally speaking, I can say that women are treated equally.

The Big Update

2009-01-08T07:01:00.000-08:00

How is it US? Sorry for the posting delay, but after some travels I'm back and better and bigger and faster than ever. Before I detail my travels, let me talk about Ghana's recent election.

The New President: Ghana's recent election was HUGE. Everyone talked about it and the news covered it "plenty" (to use the Ghanaian phrase) since I arrived in September. It was quite a long saga, but the entire process was transparent and peaceful. Ghana is one of the few countries free of politically and ethnically motivated violence in Africa, and it is the second time it has changed from one democratically elected government to another. The first round of voting took place Dec. 7th, and the results were almost split between the Nana Akufo-Addo of the NPP (49%) and Prof. Atta Mills of the NDC (47%). Ghana's constitution specifies that unless one party gets over 50%, there must be a runoff. So Round 2 took place Dec. 28, where Ghanaians could only choose the NPP or NDC, and it was ridiculously close. Almost 10 million voted and Prof. Atta Mills was leading by a mere 21,000 votes, but one constituency's vote was thrown out (due to problems). So this constituency re-voted on Jan. 2 (the so-called 3rd round) and even after that it took another day until the Electoral Commission declared Prof. Atta Mills the next president of Ghana. He had only 4 days until he took office yesterday (Jan. 7).

The entire saga was contentious and stirred up a lot of passion in Ghanaians, but no major violence broke out. From the first round of voting until the result was finally declared Jan. 4, there was a lot of anxiety. It definitely subdued all holiday celebrations as everyone was anxious to hear the result. Almost everyone I knew talked at great length with me about the two major candidates, and I feel certain if I was supremely bored one day I could write a short novel detailing both major parties histories, the background of the major candidates, etc. Both parties had "theme songs", "theme slogans" (Yessisem "We are changing"; and Ya koy ye nim "We are moving forward), "theme hand signals", and a ridiculous amount of advertisements and media coverage (including their own propagandist papers and radio stations). It was quite a ride, and I'm glad it's over and went smoothly. I congratulate Ghana for its commitment to peace and democracy.

Now on to my travels. I mostly visited friends I know from the university who were home for the holidays.

Keta: Keta is on a peninsula surrounded by the Keta Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean. Some of the town was destroyed or damaged from a rise in the ocean some years back. Now a "sea defense" wall (basically strategically placed walls of large rocks) has been constructed and the town is rebuilding. Due to its proximity to water, if you are not walking on the main road in Keta, you are walking on sand. The residents are used to the sand, but it was seriously disturbing me (to use the Ghanaian phrase), and traipsing around in my worn out Birks was a major workout. My friend took me to see the remains of a Danish fort built in the 16th century (the ocean has destroyed most of it), the sea defense wall, and to Catholic mass (best music I ever heard at mass). At church I saw an 85 year old Dane who has lived in Ghana for over 20 years. He runs an eye clinic and speaks fluent Ewe, the local language. Pretty impressive for an obruni (or "yavoo" in Ewe).

Winneba: I went back to Winneba for Christmas, the place where it all began for me in Africa. Christmas was rather subdued...it felt just like any other day except for the Christmas lights I brought and a small tree with modest decorations...no Santa Clause, no gifts, no snow, and no Christmas songs except horrible reggae versions of "Hark the Herald..." and "Joy to the World". Most people go to church on Christmas but instead I went swimming with my friend at the beach, with a cool breeze and warm water. Pretty awesome. I also was in Winneba for New Years, not to party hearty with the family on the Eve (as no one drinks alcohol), but to attend a festival on New Years Day. In fact, on New Years Eve everyone went to bed before midnight!! At least earlier in the night there was a "dance competition" for three "small girls" and one "small boy" (to use the Ghanaian phrase), with the prize being a bottle of Coke. Luckily the New Years Day festival was awesome...it was a competition between four groups, each consisting of about 40 people in costumes (or as they call it, "fancy dress"), a few stilt dancers, and a brass band, performing three different dance routines. The dances mainly involved fancy footwork and were really cool. Each group also had costumed gorillas and one obruni (dressed like a stiff British commander with a walking stick) dancing in their own style. Luckily by this point I had a camera so I snapped some pics.

Takoradi: Between Christmas and New Years I went out West to visit the family of another friend from the university. The family was 6...2 parents and 4 kids. I had a great time...I went to a 7th Day Adventist Church service (my friends dad was the minister), saw the Takoradi harbor and central market, gave a "jazz piano" lesson to a gospel keyboardist in the area, and went to the best beach ever. This beach was only about a 30 minute drive from their house, so the 7 of us piled into their small car (it was unusual they owned a car) and enjoyed the afternoon there. The beach was amazing...warm water, an island not far away (boats went to and from), small crabs you could chase but never catch, not crowded (hardly anyone was swimming), and unlike other beaches I've been to in Ghana, it was flat, so you could walk out far and still have your head above water. The waves coming in were pretty big. Crazily I was the only one swimming from our group...many Africans, even if they live close to the ocean, don't know how to swim and are afraid of water! But I enjoyed it anyway. We also climbed up 200 wooden steps to get an amazing view of the beach. The city of Takoradi was nice...it was relaxed and much less choked than Accra.

Akosomobo: I went up to the mountains to visit yet another friend from the university. Her father worked at the Akosombo dam, the largest dam in Ghana and the major source of power for the entire country. I got a tour of two dams in the area, and a nice view of the Volta river. On the way back I saw a troup of monkeys crossing the road.

I have one more trip planned this weekend...I'll be seeing lots of traditional Ewe music so I'm excited. I'll try to answer some questions I got, and maybe post a few more pictures, but don't hold your breath as internet here ranges from bad to really bad to awfully horrible. Take care! Only about two months until my triumphant return...

See a few pictures on Facebook

2009-01-05T07:53:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I don't have much time right now, as I've wasted over an hour trying to upload images from my camera (I finally got one!). I could only get pictures to upload onto Facebook, so if you're my friend on Facebook you can access a few pictures there.

I'll post something substantial in a few days detailing my travels, Ghana's recent election, and anything else fun. I'll put up lots of pictures once I return to the US, since it's too difficult to do it here. Take care!

Traffic makes me sad

2008-12-18T07:59:00.000-08:00

New favorite store names:
I am Collections
George Bush Way Chop Bar (chop Bar = restaurant)

And now, may I present the story of the 8-hour journey to and from the Accra Post Office. The main characters are myself, and traffic. The trip to the post office involved 3 separate tro-tro rides. Traffic was unusually heavy (usually it's just heavy), and by the 3rd tro-tro I was so fed up with traffic that I alighted (to use the local phrase) and walked 30 minutes until I found the post office [elapsed time: 2.5 hrs]. It took me three tries to find the correct service counter, and once I did I was directed to another window that was currently vacant. Luckily after 10 minutes of waiting a man appeared, and was friendly and helpful [elapsed time: 3 hrs]. However, the post office didn't have the package I was looking for (joy of joys!), and they directed me to another post office. Since it was about 4pm I didn't think I had enough time to make it to this other post office, so I decided to go home.

I left the post office and decided to forgo another tro-tro ride since traffic was ridiculous. As I walked on a street towards my destination, I had the feeling I was marching in a parade: tons of people crowded the street, a few vehicles were playing music that people danced to, and cars trying to get through the gridlock were horning (to use the local phrase) like crazy. After walking to an area of less traffic I picked (to use the local phrase) a tro-tro and got the station, and boarded another tro-tro (remember, I still need to take 2 more to get home). This time, traffic was so bad that I literally moved 20 feet in an hour [elapsed time: 4.5 hrs]. I was so frustrated that I got out of the car and walked to eat some food and kill some time. I figured by 7pm traffic would settle down.

After eating and relaxing a bit, I walked to the station hoping that things had cleared. I was dead wrong...traffic was still horrendous. Even more exciting was the crowd of about 200 people trying to board any tro-tro that came by. As each car came every 2 or 3 minutes, 20 or 30 people mobbed it (even before they knew where it was going), pushing and shoving their way to the front so that if the car was the right one they could get in. It was crazy. Apparently the concept of forming a line hadn't crossed anyone's mind. And apparently this happens every day as the commuters leave Accra to travel back to their homes. I've experienced this once before but it wasn't quite as crowded. I decided to give up after about 30-40 minutes, I was too overwhelmed and didn't feel like fighting people for a spot. [elapsed time: 6+ hrs].

I killed an hour and a half at a nearby internet cafe and made sure to come back late, around 9pm, when I knew traffic would be clear. It took me less than 45 minutes to get back, but I was frustrated and exhausted [elapsed time: 8+ hrs]. The End.

Moral of the story: Traffic will get you down. It may suck life from you, as it has special powers. It may drive you to despair. So live in the countryside or buy a custom jetpack with wings so you can fly.

Other: I am getting better at drumming little by little. I'm not getting better at handwashing (I need to find out WHO invented the washing machine, as they are my new hero). I took a trip to a nice beach (sorry, no pictures as the package in question contains a replacement camera). And according to my neighbor, who lived for 30 years in Canada, I will cry on Christmas day here. Because it's just not the same - hot weather, terrible reggae versions of X-mas songs, only a few decorations, and people typically don't share a nice meal together. So I'll let you know how many tears I shed. Shed a tear for me please, as I'm very homesick. But I'm really looking forward to some travels. Take care.

Important Announcement

2008-12-03T06:39:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to post a quick update. Forgot to mention last week that I saw a really well produced play at the University of Legon. There were about 60 people in the cast (!) decked out in dazzling costumes. Traditional music and choreographed dancing occurred throughout. The story detailed the history of an 18th Century war between the Ashanti (from central Ghana) and the British colonials. It was somewhat comical as the "obrunis" (white foreign exchange students) acted the parts of various British colonials, a.k.a. the bad guys. I have to admit I felt a little awkward when the audience cheered the defeat of the "obrunis" (who ran off the stage doing the British high-step), but it was a pretty powerful experience nonetheless. And it started on time and the lighting worked uninterupted.

On Sunday I got another crack at playing "Kinka" and also "Slow Adbadza" with my society. Two of their main drummers were away near Lake Volta, so I got to play a lot. It was pretty awesome. Nothing much else is new - haven't had power for 2 days.

I'd now like to announce:

ASK ME ANYTHING ABOUT GHANA

That's right, you can submit that burning question(s) you had about Africa. Many Ghanaians I talk to want to know what Americans think about Ghana (at least two people I talked to are worried that Americans think they live in trees). So I'd like to tell you *how it really is*, at least to the extent that I know. You can hit me up with questions in any of the following ways:

1) Post it as a comment for this blog
2) Email jsheehan81@yahoo.com
3) Message me on Facebook

I'll select the best questions and provide brilliant, witty, insightful responses, and the best question winner will receive a Viking Range, a new Sealy mattress, an all-expenses paid trip to the Azores OR Sri Lanka (your choice) AND travel in style in a BRAND ... NEW ... CAR!!!

Peace out. PS: One thing I look forward to when I return: flushing a toilet (it's been 3 months).

Where's the Stovetop???

2008-11-27T07:16:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving y'all! In honor of the holidays I ran amock around my property with a butcher knife until I caught one of the turkeys that roam the grounds. After I beheaded and de-feathered him, I cooked up a feast with yams, carrots, and onions, with apple pie to boot. Okay, actually I just ate beans and plantains, and I couldn't even find Stovetop. Such is life in Ghana.

Can't say that I have much to report, it's been two weeks of failed plans and days blurring into one another. But I have an action-packed weekend coming up (assuming that plans actually work out) and I might even be able to put up pictures in my next post (a replacement camera is possibly en route).

Music: I performed in a parade, the first since high school marching band (thank god we didn't have to wear the stupid marching uniforms). There were about 10 of us going round the neighborhood at maybe 7pm, drumming, singing, and causing havoc. It was great. Later that night we played Weka and Kpanlogo, both popular traditional dances. The night also stood out because I also took apateshie for the first time, a mix of gin and traditional herbs. It burns like whiskey, but I did enjoy the "earthy" flavor of the herbs.

At the university campus I saw a performance of Brazilian samba. Well, sort of. The singer/guitarist was an exchange student from Brazil and the rest of the musicians were Ghanaians, so it was a weird fusion of samba and highlife (afropop). Halfway through the performance the mounted lights illuminating the stage fell over. Oops.

Other: I took a trip up to the Eastern region and though it didn't quite work out as planned, I found a trailhead into the "sacred and everlasting Dodowa forest" (said the sign nearby). The only person around was an old lady sleeping on a bench, so I went right in. I found this amazing clearing with two HUGE bamboo trees and a small stream. It could have been a set right out of Jurassic Park or some African movie set in the jungle...unbelievable. I relaxed under cover of the forest canopy for about 30 minutes before I saw a man in approaching in the distance. We met eye to eye, and I had this weird vision that he was going to signal to his friends who would emerge from hiding in the bush all around me, with painted faces and blowguns with poison darts, and I would be tied up and carried to the chief. That's what Hollywood movies and do to your mind. What actually happened was he left, and I was alone again. When I exited the jungle, the old lady was awake and started yelling at me in Ga-Dagbani, a language I unfortunately don't speak at all. I just had to shrug and walk away, hoping she wouldn't come after me with a machete.

I've also converted to being a futbol (aka soccer) fan. It's a sport unrivaled in popularity in Ghana. At some point I'll see a Ghanaian Premier League match at the Accra Sports Stadium. Tickets to the cheap seats are less than $4!

And the real fun times: Moments to cherish ... being on a tro-tro where everyone was yelling (and I mean everyone, excepting myself) in Twi for 15 minutes straight, like an episode of Jerry Springer, and the car being stopped so the driver could get in the face of the man who started the disagreement. I think the dispute was over the fare ... going to campus dressed up to play a concert with the R&B group I volunteered to help out, and finding out 45 minutes before the show that it was cancelled for the second time, meanwhile I had cancelled other plans just for this show ... traveling two hours by tro-tro and hiking 30 minutes uphill to attend a rehearsal that two people confirmed would happen, and arriving to find no one there ... oh, Ghana!

Happy Holidays!!

Still hot & heavy in November

2008-11-12T04:26:00.000-08:00

The current score in the war for supremacy in my kitchen: Ants: 2,313,534 Me: 7

Addendum to favorite fruits: Tangerines - cheap, tasty, juicy, available, fresh, amazing, yummy, goodness

What's new: Stayed up 'til 5:30am last Tuesday to watch the election. My neighbor lived in Canada for 30 years and loves to follow politics, so I camped out at his place with 2 big cups of coffee and lots of adrenaline. By some small miracle we picked up CNN around midnight. I'll never forget that night...there's a lot of scariness ahead for our country but Tuesday was inspirational.

I returned to the Ewe music society, this time in a different location, for another funeral (did I mention that a funeral in Ghana can last up to 3 days, and after the body is buried it becomes a party celebrating the life of the deceased). Once again I played the song/dance "Kinka", playing rattle, supporting drums and the master drum for a good while. I think I can safely say that I tore it up: many people complimented my playing, including the resident "master drummer", and my teacher was very proud (he boozed in my honor). While I'm still by no means a master, I know "Kinka" well, and I'll be working to get other songs up to this level. I've become an official member of this society until I leave Ghana, and I'll be visiting them in 3 weeks for more of the same.

Finished teaching my orchestration class, and I will be playing keyboards for the university R&B group (our show includes "Killing me softly" and "No More" by Alicia Keys) at an unannounced concert date. Caught a cold twice in 2 weeks, but I've recovered and hope to stay healthy. Slowly making more friends and maybe more enemies. Seeing a few unbelievable thunderstorms and hoping my house doesn't flood (it didn't). Reading books. Learning RH Factor tunes on my keyboard.

What's on the Telly in Ghana: I get four channels on my 13" TV: GTV, TV3, TV Africa & Metro TV. All are homegrown Ghanaian stations. By far the most common programming is news, broadcast by all stations. Other common programs include African movies (from Nigeria & Ghana) and music videos (from Ghana & US). Soccer is fairly frequent, including English Premiere League, UEFA Champions League and Ghanaian soccer. There's also an assortment of very random shows on that I've catch now and again. This includes "Murder, She Wrote", "Touched by an Angel" (never watched these shows before in my life), a very strange Korean show about princes and princesses with subtitles (currently my favorite), a Spanish soap opera with English dubbing (which doubles the entertainment value), Voice of America (a US news report and propaganda tool), and US cartoons. I even watched 10 minutes of the latest "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" movie, the one in CGI. Wow. I'm sure there's lots more I haven't seen yet. And apparently it's also possible to get CNN and Al-Jazeera early in the morning, but I haven't been successful yet. I'm hoping to build a rogue antenna so I can pick up "American Idol" and football playoffs.

You say?

2008-11-02T07:38:00.000-08:00

Small (small) differences between American and Ghanaian English:

US: How's it going?

Ghana: How is it?

US: What did you say?

Ghana: You say?

US: These little insects are biting my arm!

Ghana: These small small insects are biting my arm!

US: I'll be right with you.

Ghana: I'm coming.

US: Do you like ground nuts?

Ghana: Do you take ground nuts?

US: [phone ringing] Don't answer it.

Ghana: [phone ringing] Don't pick it.

US: Lets go this way.

Ghana: Lets pass this way.

US: Get off at the crossroads.

Ghana: Alight at the junction.

US: The bus will turn.

Ghana: The car will branch.

Common Ghanaian phrases:

I'm telling you! I'm TELLING you!

You understand? You understand what I'm saying?
(There are lots more, can't think of them)

Saturday: I traveled to a funeral in the afternoon in Mampong, in the Eastern Region. This area of Ghana is not far from Accra but has lush, tropical forests (partially cut down) and mountains with scenic overlooks. The entire town of Mampong was filled with people dressed in nice black clothes, all attending various funerals in the area, which apparently is the thing to do on Saturdays. The funeral itself was uneventful, since we arrived too late to see the burial of the body and the associated rituals, and there was no traditional music performance.

Monday: Today was America day. I traveled to the US Embassy for the first time and voted (it should arrive by plane tomorrow morning). Then I went to Osu where all the trendy international restaurants are, and got myself a juicy, dripping burger and fries. It was so unbelievably good, you can't even imagine. The cost was remarkably high by my standards ($8.70) so I'll probably go back once more before I leave. And I got to watch CNN at the restaurant. Yay America.

Accra and The Prophet

2008-10-27T06:07:00.000-07:00

What's new:

Music: I'm still working hard at drumming, and working on a few new songs: "Agbadja" (with sticks) and "Kpalogo" (with hands). Slowly my sound is improving, and there are some upcoming opportunities to perform with other musicians in the next few weeks. I *finally* got a keyboard and it's a real piece of junk: an early-90s vintage Casios with 4 octaves, 100 preloaded rhythms that all suck and the ability to play no more than 4 notes at a time. But I've never been more excited to have something to play on, and I'm hoping to jam a bit with some Ghanaian musicians. I'm getting to know my students in orchestration and jazz piano, and they are really great people, very talented and appreciative of my teaching. It's been a great experience so far.

Accra: I'm starting to explore the city more and more. On one trip I saw the commercial center of the city (Adabraka), the National Museum, and an art store with authentic Ghanaian paintings. I also saw some live "jazz" at the Golden Tulip hotel, a 4-star hotel near the Airport. The jazz sounded like it was from the 1930s, and it wasn't exactly my style, but the hotel courtyard took me away from Ghana with its modern atmosphere and truly international mix of people (mostly wealthy, so I didn't exactly fit in).

Accra is hard to pin down; some areas feel modern and vibrant, with 25-story skyscrapers and stores stocked with new tvs and appliances, and some areas are cramped, smelling of sewage and public urination. Some roads are well-paved and wide, others are dirt roads that ride like a wooden roller coaster. Traffic can be brutal at times, but there are windows where getting around is quite easy. There's still much more to explore, and I'm sure my impression of the city will constantly change.

I took a trip north with my neighbors (Solomon, who lived in Toronto for 30 years, and Peace, his wife) to a traditional church service. The trip took over an hour, and the service lasted almost 6 hours!! The church, called The Church of Rabbi, was "Christian", but certainly not in the Western sense. The service started with a few junior pastors preaching in Twi, the local language, interrupted by traditional music (a highlight for me, most of it was just awesome) so they could take a breather.

However, once the Prophet Kwabena Takiah arrived, things became a bit less structured but more serious, as he called people up to solve their problems (which either resembled an episode of Judge Judy or a televangelist), preached a bit on whatever topic he felt like, and left the church from time to time to attend to his visions. The Prophet had a commanding presence, and was able to conjure up fear and laughter from his parishioners throughout the service. According to my neighbor, in the 20 years that the Prophet has led the church, no member has died! Many people told me that he was a great man and had solved many problems for them. I was even called up at one point to receive a blessing from the Prophet, who welcomed me and proceeded to drench me in a ridiculous amount of oil from a special horn. I was glad to get home and wash myself!!

Being a white man: While I continue to have a great experience in Ghana, it has been tough at times. First, I am here completely on my own, independent of any program. While this has been a great asset, since I have been able to decide how to structure my time, it's been hard having no one to share in the same experiences. I've met some American exchange students at the University, but they live on campus with other foreigners and have their own circle of friends. While they are friendly, I haven't really connected with any of them yet. I'm starting to become friends with several Ghanaians but I have to be cautious with who I can trust.

I also constantly stand out. Since I usually travel alone, I'm the only white person in almost all situations. And this means people notice me, and want to talk. Sometimes they just want to say "Good afternoon", or "How are you?", or just ask permission to be my friend, or maybe I'm the subject of a laugh while riding on a tro-tro, or maybe they want to teach me a little Twi (the most common language taught to foreigners). In fact, one friendly guy taught me a few phrases in Twi, then offered to give me lessons for $100/hr! We laughed about it.

But this is a common perception: that as a white man I have lots of money, and this is when standing out isn't so good. Strangers sometimes ask me for money, and even my "friends" will pressure me to help them out using a variety of tactics. This is often the hardest to deal with: for instance, the man who rakes leaves for me each week haggled with me for 20 minutes to give him some extra money after I had already lent him some the previous week. I don't mind helping people out, but I don't like being seen as an ATM; I just want to be seen as a regular person.

Now with all of that being said, most Ghanaians are INCREDIBLY kind and friendly. Strangers who I've asked for directions have shown me the way and paid for a taxi. My neighbor has washed my clothes and insisted I don't pay him twice. Many many people have helped me out. So all in all, Ghana is way cool. Sometimes I wish I wasn't a white guy. Maybe I'll pull a reverse Michael Jackson (but what would this mean for my nose?)!

Hope all is well in the US...take care, and expect another post soon!

Random musings

2008-10-17T05:13:00.000-07:00

RANDOM MUSING #1: In the streets of Ghana you may come across stores (which may be a 6x6x10 wooden shack, or part of a concrete building) that have names like these:

God Reigns Cold Store
Gifted Hand Beauty Salon
No Weapon Beauty Salon
Alpha & Omega Unit Transfer
Girls Next Door Mini-Mart
Merchants of Daughters Security Systems
Sober Spot Drinking Bar & Food Joint (a bit of an oxymoron?!)
But Seek First the Destiny of God Construction Works

You might see on the back of a taxi or tro-tro:

Holy Ghost Fire
God Dey

RANDOM MUSING #2: The fruit here is fresh, cheap and available almost anywhere. Here is my list of favorite fruit in Ghana:

1. Mango (not currently in season, but occasionally you can find it)
2. Pineapple (its so soft and juicy you can eat almost the entire fruit)
3. Plantains (fried, heated, as chips, its delicious any way its been prepared)
4. Guava (very sweet, this fruit was new to me)
5. Banana (best bananas I've ever tasted, smaller and sweeter than ones in the US)
6. Grapes (I've only seen red)
7. Coconut (coconut trees are everywhere...someone climbs a tree, pulls them down, cuts them open, and you drink the juice. Then you can scoop out the goopy white stuff inside and eat it. But it stains your clothes)
8. Orange (most of the skin is cut away, the top is cut open, and you squeeze what's left of the skin to get the juice out of the open top. Basically you are drinking juice straight from an orange)
9. Papaya (hadn't had this before, resembles melons)

RANDOM MUSING #3: The sound of what seems like a million frogs outside my house is driving me insane. It starts at dark, maybe about 8pm, and seems to continue on and off all night long. If you don't hear from me again, I'm probably out trying to find and capture all the frogs so I can take them to Burkina Faso.

I'm working on getting a camera, but it probably will be a while before I post pictures. Farewell!

"Baby, can I take you to the Babicue"

2008-10-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

Favorite songs I’ve heard on the radio while riding in tro-tros:

[reggae beat]
I’m gonna leave my AK-47
Down 'der in A-mer-i-ca
Down ‘der in A-Eur-o-pa
Down ‘der in A-Rus-si-cka
And enter Mt. Zion in peace

The Barack Obama song (can’t remember the lyrics)

Baby, can I take you to the Ba-bi-cue (=Barbeque)
Baby, can I take you to the Ba-bi-cue
7 o’clock the time, 7 o’clock
7 o’clock the time, 7 o’clock

One of the main reasons I came to Ghana was to see authentic performances of traditional music. Numerous attempts to actually see of these performances failed (but on one attempt I got to watch someone snort coke, so at least I learned something), and I began to think that the elusive “societies” that performed for funerals, naming of babies, rites of passage, and other festive occasions didn’t actually exist.

Luckily, this all changed yesterday (Sunday) when my drumming teacher took me to an Ewe (an ethnic group) celebration somewhere in the convoluted streets of Accra. The festivities took place in a small courtyard between houses where about 50 people, young and old, male and female, crammed in. I had to put on the colorful authentic cloth around my waist worn by all participants. The celebration had already started when I arrived, and it was a sensory overload: people were shouting, singing, clapping, drumming, dancing, singing, smiling at me, staring at me, grabbing my hand, making me dance...

I had been working with my teacher on “Kinka”, a song that would be performed at this society, and theoretically I was supposed to “sit in” with the musicians after I figured out what was going on. After soaking up the scene for about 20 minutes, I was playing one of the 7 rattles (maracas), trying not to mess up the rhythm I learned 10 seconds ago which might piss off one of the old guys playing next to me. The drummers were drinking shots from the cap of a bottle filled with a mystery liquid (it smelled like gin) that made you play STRONGER, and encouraged me to drink so I too could play stronger. 15 minutes later I was playing the kagan, one of the 7 drums which included 2 master drums over 8 feet tall. After some surprised stares and encouraging smiles, I was starting to relax and settle down.

Then someone grabbed my hand and passed me the huge sticks to one of the master drums, which was a signal. Before I knew it I was playing the variations of "Kinka" that I had worked on the past 3 weeks. The dancers started going crazy, surprised to see a white man playing Ewe music! Women came up to me and draped a cloth on my back. I was locked in, playing confidently and having fun. But it all came crashing down: I accidentally interrupted the other master drummer, and I became confused and hesitated, and soon the sticks were taken away from me. I felt a little sheepish, but I danced for a little bit, played some more kagan, and had another stint at the master drum later on.

This experience was the best day in Ghana I’ve had so far: the music filled me up and deeply moved me. And I still have so much to learn about the music here…next time I go to this society, I’ll be a better drummer and have a better idea what and when to play. I hope to experience many more performances of traditional music in my time here.

Everything else has been fine: I’m still teaching my orchestration class at the university, I’m teaching jazz piano to a group of three students which is going really well, and I’ve visited the Noyam Dance Institute twice. Noyam is a professional dance company about one-and-a-half hours away, and I’m hoping to study their versions of traditional music, and maybe even compose a piece for them to perform. I’ve also been hanging out with a honest-to-goodness Canadian, eh, who is visiting her dad (my neighbor) for 10 days. It’s been a real boost to have someone to talk to and hang out with, and to share the joys and frustrations of Ghana.

There are always a few daily frustrations: not being able to wash my clothes by hand that well yet (and the girl who is supposed to come and help me out never shows up), accidentally riding a bus that took over an hour to fill up when I could have taken a tro-tro instead, mistakenly giving out my phone number to a dude in the neighborhood who wanted to be my "friend", then receiving 6 phone calls from him at 1am (I'll never make THAT mistake again!), running water being gone for 2-4 days, and so on... but I'm so glad to be here.

Thanks for all of the comments, sorry I haven’t replied individually but I miss everyone! I have much more to talk about so expect another post soon… I'll be back in exactly 5 months!!

Lizards, Spiders and Jollof Rice, oh my!

2008-09-25T06:32:00.000-07:00

So I successfully moved to West Legon, near the University of Ghana, 10 days ago. The place I am renting is a small, furnished house with a generous kitchen, 2 bedrooms (one is ominously and permanently locked) and an empty living room. It's a very nice place, and the neighbors are generally very friendly and helpful, and look out for me. But I've had my share of mishaps: when I'm not smashing monster spiders, chasing lizards, and battling invasive ants (now I really understand Garcia Marquez in 100 years of Solitude when he talks about the Buendia's eternal struggle with the ants), I'm enjoying occasional power outages, no running water (which happens about every 3 days), a power strip where one of the outlets blew up creating a small flame at 5am (luckily it extinguished by itself), and certain neighbors engaging in Jerry Springer style wars of words for extended periods of time. All that being said, I feel fortunate to have my own space, even if I get a bit lonely now and then, that's relatively close to the University. I've been cooking simple meals, and as an added bonus I have satellite TV with about 10 channels, including ESPN, CNN, and BBC (all European versions however, so lots of "real" football and world news).

Musically, things are starting to get going. I'm working with a great teacher on drumming, and even though it's not terribly cheap it's been productive and fun. He's going to take me to various music societies who perform traditional music/dance, so I'll be the token "obruni" trying to step in on drums. I'm also teaching (with the chair of music) a six-week course at the University on orchestration with the greatest student/teacher ratio ever - 2:2. And at first it was 2:1 - we picked up a straggler. I've taught one class and it was great fun - I realized how much I missed teaching, and the class size makes it very laid back and stress free. Other avenues of exploration include getting a keyboard to jam with, and working with a Dance Institute up north, both of which should get going in the next couple of weeks or so.

I also got to see a group called "Hewale Sounds" perform at a posh bar, with mostly whites in attendance (which made me a bit sad, since most Africans don't have the expendable income to hang out at this sort of place). They were pretty awesome, and featured 4 recorder players, 2 balafone players (aka xylophones), a keyboard player (who often used general MIDI percussion, to my great amusement), and some drummers (including a dude on "box-drum"). It's been really inspiring to be around so much great music and dance at the University and elsewhere...I've even heard a pianist practicing the familiar Rachmaninoff G-minor prelude!

The day-to-day stuff is coming along. I'm getting settled in, becoming familiar with the tro-tros and markets, and coming to terms with extremely unreliable internet (but the good news is the internet cafe I'm in plays nonstop Britney Spears, it's just finished "Slave 4 U" and now on to "Stronger", thank god for American pop music). I've had time to catch up on some reading, and to my surprise learned that Ghanaians barely read fiction at all (only self-help and religious books). While out walking I'm often greeted by strangers, and many times I've met people who desperately want to get to the US by any means (and can't get a job here, not for lack of trying), asking for help and advice. This also makes me a bit sad, and I feel fortunate to have a place like the US to return to (even in the wake of our $$$ crisis). So even though you might see taxes go up, and inflation, and all sorts of scary economic developments, be glad for hot showers, reliable transportation and hamburgers/fries (I am REALLY craving this, you can't even understand). Farewell, and peace.

Akwaaba!

2008-09-13T03:27:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and family, hope all is well! I arrived safely in Ghana 9 days ago and traveled to Winneba, a town on the coast about an hour from Accra. I am staying at a house owned by relatives of my friend Kwesi. They have been wonderful hosts, cooking all my meals, doing laundry, and taking me all around.

So far my experience has been like a vacation, but it’s been a great vacation. Ghanaians are generally very friendly and helpful. Winneba is a charming town, and I’ve explored most of it, including swimming on a secluded beach, playing checkers with the locals (they call it draughts), and going to a church service which was well over 2 hours long! As far as I can tell, I’m the other white person here, and am constantly greeted by young children shouting “Obruni! Obruni! Obruni! Obruni! How are you?” (Obruni means white man). But the children have been a lot of fun. I brought my frisbee (to spread ultimate frisbee to Africa) and a huge crowd of children played, they loved it. We also put up a basketball hoop and I taught some people the basics of basketball. It was strange being the best player in the land (especially being white) being watched by a crowd of about 15 children, plus the hoop was 9 feet high so I could throw it down!

The house I am staying at has 7 people: Ida (a radio DJ), Mensa (just finished high school) and their mother (retired), and 3 people renting rooms (2 of them are teachers). The food has been a pleasant surprise: most dishes I really like, including the legendary fufu (cassava/plaintains ground up with pestle/mortar into a gooey dough, served in a vegetable soup broth), jellof rice (rice with spices/vegetables), waichi (rice/beans), and lots of fish, chicken and bread. There is a TV and DVD player (I’ve watched 3 African movies; my advice, steer clear!!), no computer and the kitchen is very small but functional.

Traveling has been an experience; it is generally more unreliable and cramped but comes with plenty of character. There are a million taxis everywhere, but it is cheaper to travel (in Accra and larger cities) by a chartered bus or a tro-tro, a converted van that seats around 20 people. The amount of people that are packed into these vehicles is insane, and the traffic (especially in Accra) can be an absolute nightmare. Often you have to wait 10-15 minutes until they are completely full. Drivers aggressively cut off others in narrow confines, constantly honk the horn warning people and other vehicles (I’ve heard more than a 1000 horn honks), and shout out the destination to recruit even more riders. You might receive a 30 minute sales pitch or hear the gospel preached on a tro-tro ride (with a joke or two about the white passenger)! The good news is that you can usually find a tro-tro or taxi quickly in most locations.

One memorable trip was to Cape Coast, about two hours away. There was a major festival that featured a huge parade (with costumes, drumming and a generally festive, frenzied atmosphere), attended by the president of Ghana. Unfortunately, my camera was stolen (so I have no pictures posted yet!) and we were in a car accident leaving town. We had to wait 5 hours at a repair shop only to learn they couldn’t fix it, so we ended up taking two taxis and a tro-tro back to Winneba.

The one key ingredient missing from my trip is music. But I am moving to Legon on Monday, where the University of Ghana lies. Once I arrive I’ll start drumming/dancing lessons, collaboration with the Noyam Dance Institute, and teaching at the University. I don’t know how quickly any of these will take shape but once I am in Legon I’ll be surrounded by musicians, which is just the way I like it.

Please keep in touch…I miss all of you already so much. I don’t know how often I’ll be able to access the internet but I’ll do my best…my aim is to post about every 10-14 days. Have a fantastic week.

All the best,
Joe