(no subject)
Much has happened since I arrived in Ghana two weeks ago. I feel as though I could write or talk forever about all of it, and that makes it difficult to decide what exactly to relate through this particular medium. So, I'm just going to give a little rundown of the things that first run through my head, bullet-style.
-I'm living just north of Accra, in Madina. My host family is wonderful: a woman named Helena, her four children, a very small kitten, and a pet monkey. The food they cook is good. Some of the other people on my program are having a hard time with the food, but I really like it - very spicy and rich in flavors that are new to me. My favorite so far is groundnut soup (a spicy peanut butter soup). My family asked me on the first day I lived with them if I like fruit, I said I did. Ever since then, with every meal I get a big bowl of watermelon, sour oranges, pineapple, or papaya. My family also happens to be the drinkable water/ice vendor for the neighborhood, so there is always cold water to drink. That is also a treat.
-It is hothothot here, and I'm getting used to having a constant layer of sweat on my skin. However, I'm getting used to it, slowly. It is usually in the mid 90s, with serious humidity. Even just sitting still sometimes has us dripping with sweat, if it's an exceptionally hot day.
-We each have to take 10 hours of private lessons in either music or dance while we're here, and I chose to study kponlogo. Kponlogo is the name of a drum, dance, rhythm, and sung song, and I'm studying the drum/rhythm. I began last week, and with my private lessons and our group lessons, I've ended up playing for well over 4 hours each day. Thos first few days of playing had my hands in a mess. They were swollen, bruised, with broken blood vessels in my fingertips, generally unable to make a fist. I'm beginning to feel the rhythms I'm learning, however. It's been a slow and painful process of wrenching myself out of a 3/4, 4/4 mindset into 12/8, etc. A good challenge, however, and my teachers are amazing.
I wish I could write more now, I have much more to tell, but I have to go to class. I hope everyone is doing well. Hopefully I'll have more substantial updates in the near future.
-I'm living just north of Accra, in Madina. My host family is wonderful: a woman named Helena, her four children, a very small kitten, and a pet monkey. The food they cook is good. Some of the other people on my program are having a hard time with the food, but I really like it - very spicy and rich in flavors that are new to me. My favorite so far is groundnut soup (a spicy peanut butter soup). My family asked me on the first day I lived with them if I like fruit, I said I did. Ever since then, with every meal I get a big bowl of watermelon, sour oranges, pineapple, or papaya. My family also happens to be the drinkable water/ice vendor for the neighborhood, so there is always cold water to drink. That is also a treat.
-It is hothothot here, and I'm getting used to having a constant layer of sweat on my skin. However, I'm getting used to it, slowly. It is usually in the mid 90s, with serious humidity. Even just sitting still sometimes has us dripping with sweat, if it's an exceptionally hot day.
-We each have to take 10 hours of private lessons in either music or dance while we're here, and I chose to study kponlogo. Kponlogo is the name of a drum, dance, rhythm, and sung song, and I'm studying the drum/rhythm. I began last week, and with my private lessons and our group lessons, I've ended up playing for well over 4 hours each day. Thos first few days of playing had my hands in a mess. They were swollen, bruised, with broken blood vessels in my fingertips, generally unable to make a fist. I'm beginning to feel the rhythms I'm learning, however. It's been a slow and painful process of wrenching myself out of a 3/4, 4/4 mindset into 12/8, etc. A good challenge, however, and my teachers are amazing.
I wish I could write more now, I have much more to tell, but I have to go to class. I hope everyone is doing well. Hopefully I'll have more substantial updates in the near future.