A Drum Master's Workshop... and my new toy :)

August 18, 2011

Now that we have settled into the final days of our journey and adventure, there were only a few things left on the agenda.  Today's adventure was to David Amoo's drum workshop.  Let me tell you, I never could have imagined how many drums we would see, or how beautiful they are from start to finish.

David is a very funny, and very eccentric older man.  He runs the shop, as well as works as the Artistic Director for the National Ghanaian Dance Ensemble. We will be seeing them tomorrow.
He discussed with us how the drums are created.  Starting at the bare necessities of it all.  The wood.  He told us it is very important to make sure they replace the trees that they cut down.  Ghana is only forested on 1/3 of its land.  The rest is desert.  So, if they cut down all the trees without replacing them, drums could no longer be made of wood, they would have to switch to plastic, fiberglass, or other materials.

The wood is carved, treated, and sent to the shop where David and his workers continue to work on masterpieces.  The designs are drawn on, then carved into the wood and the drum is sanded. After this, the wood is stained to the darkness that they choose by mixing a mineral rock dye with water.  From there, the hole for the pegs are put in.

David's brother took on the next part of it. He showed us how they take the skin of a caprine antelope and take the hair off of it to make the drum head.  He said some drums use goat skin, but antelope is stronger.  He stitches the drum head to make it fit with the twine perfectly around the drum.  Each peg gets looped four times for stability.  This is all done after the skin has soaked for about 20 minutes in water to soften it.

When this is complete, the skin must dry.  Then the tightening process begins.  He puts in new pegs, and hammers each one in, making sure the drum is in tune.

Watching this was incredible.  On top of that, we all got to take our drums back with us.

I can't wait to show my sogo off in my classroom!

Untold beauty

August 17, 2011

Today I had one of the most incredible experiences of my life.  We went to Kakum National Rainforest. Upon arrival, you have to hike this intense set of cobblestone stairs.  The stairs take you to the canopy level.  That is where my breath was taken away.

  

It is hard to describe in words the beauty that is held in the greens, blues, yellows, and browns of the rainforest.  You are surrounded by lushness everywhere you look.  It is an entirely different perspective to be essentially floating within it.  The ropes hold up planks that connect from tree to tree.  While the course is only 350 meters long, it is 350 meters of breathtaking views and sounds.  I still can’t believe that I did it.  You are up so high, you wonder how you are even managing it, looking down isn’t the best idea, but you just can’t help yourself.  I wish that everyone could see something like this at one point in his or her life.  It puts a lot of things into perspective.

On a side note from the wonder, I found a tree in the forest that looks and awful lot like the Lorax trees in the Dr. Seuss book.  I am very curious whether or not Theodore Geisel visited Kakum before working on that book.

After Kakum, we took the long drive back to Accra and the Afia.  More to come later!

Beach Day? I think so.

August 16, 2011

A day sitting on a beach in Africa.  Not much more to say than that.  I slept, read, and listened to music in a lounge chair on the beach for the day.  Relaxation at its finest!  For a while in the morning, Kerrie and I napped underneath a coconut tree while the ocean was lapping at the sand about 20 feet away.  Later, we ate lunch, which was later followed by... another nap on the beach!  All that dancing finally caught up to me.  Another victory, I had African pizza for dinner.  It was delicious!

A very intense, historically based, day

August 15, 2011

Coach busses in Ghana are awesome.  Tro-tros are scary, but the coach bus we took to Cape Coast was/is awesome.  It has air conditioning….and seat belts!!! We were all very excited.  I sat with Davida as my seat mate which is always a fabulous time.  When we got to Cape Coast, we stopped the bus to eat our boxed lunches from Afia.  Mine was a very tasty bacon sandwich, though it was more like ham.  We took a quick stop at Barclay’s for some people to change money, then it was off to the Castle.

Cape Coast Castle is a very intense experience.  It is one of three castles in Ghana that was used for the slave trade.  While it is the youngest of the three castles, there were still millions of Africans shipped on slave ships from within the dungeon walls.  President Barrack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama came to the castle in 2009, they came because the First Lady is a descendant of one of the many people shipped from there.  They put up a plaque memorializing the place and its significance, alongside another plaque that hopes we will never see atrocities like this again.

**On a complete side note: Everyone in Ghana is absolutely in love with/obsessed with President Obama.  When they know you are from the U.S. they instantly start talking about how wonderful he is.  There are billboards with his face on them.***

Inside the dungeons we lead through the living quarters where 200 men would live (in each of the sections) in a space smaller than my classroom.  They would be there being fed once a day, not bathing, and having no access to a bathroom.  You could almost feel the suffering in the air.  The most intense part of the tour was in the cell.  There was a cell where captured Africans who tried to fight back were placed.  They were literally locked in this room with no food, water, light, or air until they died. When we went in, it was instantly sweltering, when the guide turned off the lights, you could almost imagine the torture these men and women went through.   A few of us went shopping in the center within the castle after the tour.  I got a lot of fun things for some people at home J

After that we went to check in at the Anomabo Beach Resort.  This is the first time we all had our own rooms.  Personal space is a much more valuable asset than we give it credit for. The rooms walk right out onto the beach.  Picturesque…and I am sure make it very clear as to what I will be doing while I am here!

Short but sweet

August 14, 2011

Today was pretty tame.  We said our goodbyes to everyone at Dagbe and left for Accra.

 Posing for pictures with our private lesson teachers was pretty much what everyone did before we left.  Here I am with Mensah (left) and Odartey (below).

 Davida and I posed with Emanuel Agbeli, the owner and head of the Dagbe Center. (Left)

Below: The back row of the van in all its glory.  Davida, myself, Jacob, and Kerrie.

When we got to Accra, we checked back into the Afia Beach Hotel.  Most of us ordered extremely “Western” food for lunch.   That means we collectively ordered cheeseburgers (that don't actually taste like what you think they do) and fries.  Different, but good.

 Mid-afternoon we took a walking excursion to the ATM…a little intense.  People try to sell you things as you walk down the street; the desperation is so thick. We were almost pulled into the market by sales people but we decided to wait until later in the week.

Bedtime is very early tonight because we are traveling again in the morning.

Performance Day...and Baby Powder

August 13, 2011

Today was our last day at Dagbe.  We woke up in normal routine, ate breakfast, then went to a ceremony.  At the ceremony our group presented some educational and soccer supplies which Kristen and Shellie brought.  

After lunch we had a quick walk-through of our pieces for the performance.  Finally, at around 3:00pm we went to the gazebo to get dressed for the performance.  We  were wrapped in traditional cloth creating skirts for the girls and pants for the boys.

We went into the Kopeyia Market square where we danced on a dirt stage that had been prepared and swept for us.  That performance was probably the most exhausting thing I have ever experienced in my life. 

Our group performed a total of 7 pieces, most people only doing about 3.  Tara and I performed in 6.  It was insane.  We both did Gahu dance, Gahu drumming, Agbekor drumming, Agbekor dance, and Tokei (I danced, she drummed).  Then on top of that she had her solo dance, and I had mine.  Tara danced a very fast version with new variations of Agbekor with George.  I danced Kpanlogo with Odartey. 

Needless to say, I was very tired afterwards and I am sure Tara was as well.  We both rocked it out though!

After we performed some of the staff members performed other pieces, it is always a blast to watch them!  We all went back to Dagbe to have a feast.  

Earlier that morning, a goat that our group purchased was “prepared for feast,”  in other words, it became dinner.  There was also chicken.  The more exciting part of the feast was that all of the villagers came to eat with us along with the staff.  It was nice to see everyone getting a good meal.

There were four of us who had a birthday while on the trip, and Jeremy arranged for us to have a celebration during the feast.  I was called up to the table with Kerrie, Ann Marie, and Shellie where we cut a cake that was banana and chocolate chips.  Cake in Ghana is more bread like, but still good.  Afterwards we all danced together with reggae music and Ghanaian high life music blasting.  Little did we know that the birthday part was not over.  Later on, the four of us were told to sit on a bench where we were blindfolded and covered in baby powder.  That was probably the best any of us smelled the entire two weeks. 

A group of us danced for hours doing the Macarena, the Electric Slide, Cotton Eyed Joe, Cupid Shuffle, and a few others that we taught to children and our teachers.  Jo and I actually ended up waltzing for a little while which was pretty funny.  Waltzing in Africa….good idea?.......great idea?......brilliant idea?  I think so. 

 Tara and I having a sweet dance party!

Typical "Leeeeeeenda Rae"

Leading the Electric Slide.

Waltzing with Jo!

Dress Rehearsal: Ghana Style

August 12, 2011

Today has been completely exhausting.  I am confident I sweat off at least two pounds.  Morning dance class was a dress rehearsal for as many songs as we could fit in.  Most people danced one or two.  A few of us danced three songs.  Tokoe, Gahu, and Agbekor.   During Tokoe, Nani decided to add another variation….so I am hoping it is still as good with the new moves. 

After dance, I finished my basket, which looks great!!

 

I then had a quick lunch before my Kpanlogo dance lesson with Odartey.  We worked our way through the dance.  I think I am ready.  I will be performing it for my classmates and the staff with Odartey during drum class.  We will also be performing Tokoe again.

I am pretty wiped.  Dancing all day on concrete can do a number on your muscles.  All I know is that I will sleep well tonight.  I can’t wait to show everyone the videos of Dagbe. 

I am thinking instead of doing Zumba, I should teach all of you Gahu.  It is a very intense cardio workout.  Maybe I will do a couple classes for the staff at Spruce.  Hahaha!!

Final Preparations, Laundry, and the Beach

August 11, 2011

Today we worked on finishing Agbekor.  It was an interesting day because we also went on an excursion to the beach near Denu market.  The beaches here are incredible.  We took off our shoes, rolled up our pant legs, and started to walk down the beach.  Allie and I were in the middle of taking a picture together when a wave got us from behind.  Needless to say, the resulting photo was pretty funny, both of us frowning at our wet clothing.  We stayed on the beach for over an hour just watching the fishing boats and trying not to get hit by too many waves.  It was a futile effort though, as those waves found their way to get all of us at least twice.  Kristen and I got it the worst though. 

 The wave got Allie and I right after this was taken.

Note that Kristen and I are SOAKED.

Stereotype...I know.

On the way home we stopped at a gas station for some FanIce.  In the United States, gas station stores are not the highlight they are here.  We all bought ice cream, cookies, some people even bought wine.  I got some chocolate chip fan ice… it was AWESOME.  I was really craving the chocolate. 

When we got back, I started some laundry.  Laundry in Ghana means two buckets of water, one with soap.  You scrub, then rinse, ring it out and hang it on the line.  Hopefully it doesn’t rain before it dries.

During drumming, we determined our parts for Saturday’s concert.  I will playing sogo for “Gahu.” It is one of the harder parts and I am very excited.  Afterwards, I went and started a second,  more complicated basket.  This basket is a gift for someone, so that person should be pretty pumped when I give it to them. 

We practiced Tokoe in the performance group tonight with Mensah.  He has decided to have me lead for most of it.  A little scary, but he said it was because I was so confident and sure of all of my movements. 

Tomorrow is the last day of rehearsing before the concert.  I can’t believe it is almost show time!!!

A combined post for a busy girl!

August 9, 2011

We have been working very hard on all of our drumming and dancing.  Unfortunately that means we don’t have much time for journaling or resting.  Agbekor is pretty difficult, but we are trying our hardest to maintain the high standards.   To give my body and mind a bit of a break, I took half of drumming class today to work on basket weaving.  I have found that I am pretty good at it too J Who knew?

I have decided that I will most likely do this again, as it was very therapeutic. Markus left today as well.  He is picking up his girlfriend in Accra and they are traveling before coming back to Dagbe next week.  I hope they have a great time!! Not much else to say for today, time for some rest!!

August 10, 2011

Mosquito bites in Africa are a tad more exaggerated than in the United States.  Thank goodness my friend, Davida, has a lot of supplies to take care of them.  I am absolutely covered from the knee down.  It’s very hard not to itch.    I took my batik fabric to Julianna to make a skirt for work.  I am very excited to wear it, especially because there was enough fabric left for a matching scarf!!

Best part of the day was dinner.  We had yam fries again.  This of course means, I ate so many I had to go lay down, like some people do after Thanksgiving dinner.

Sorry for another short post, more to come.  We are very busy, and I am pretty exhausted…and a bit sweaty. 

Storytime

August 8, 2011

Dance class is unbelievably intense after taking two days without it.  We worked on the final touches of Gahu, including the entrance and exit sections.  I was pretty excited because Joe decided to join in, which meant I could hand my camera over to Markus, another German friend of mine.   I consider Markus our Dagbe paparazzi, and luckily he agreed to take a bunch of pictures while we danced.  Which is the first photo proof I have of myself dancing.  They are hilarious pictures.

 Above: Jo, Jacob, and I rock out during the first variation.

Left: Basic movement at it's finest!


Below: This movement took a while to get down, but it is probably the most fun.  We dance, switch partners, dance, switch again, and keep going until the master drummer decides to put us back into the basic movement.

We also started working on a dance called Agbekor.  It is much harder than Gahu for me, though many people say that it is easier for them.

During drum class, we worked on the Gahu variations.  I love playing sogo, even though it is very difficult.  The agbekor drumming is much different than the Gahu drumming.  I felt really confident with the ahachey part because of a previous experience with the rhythm. 

At night, we had a storyteller visit the village.  He told us various stories, often making us tell him the moral of the story.  I discussed one of the morals, and he danced Agbajah with me shortly after.  It was an amazing experience sitting outside with all of the village listening to “grandpa” tell us those stories by the fireside.

Ghanaians are really good at volleyball

August 7, 2011

Another weekend day that started with Batik Making.  I am finally finished with my piece though.  The purple came out beautiful.  I am very excited to bring it to Juliana to make my skirt when I get it back tomorrow.  

After I finished my project, Nani asked me to help him with a project he was working on.  So, he showed me how some batiks are painted with the dyes.  During this process, the wind blew the already dyed section onto my face, arms, and shirt….dying me in the process.  I got it off my skin pretty quickly, but my shirt was a different story.  Since it was Nani’s project, he decided he would dye my shirt for me.  He showed me how to do the tie process to create a bulls- eye effect.   He assured me it would look “mad cool” when it is finished.

Here is a picture of me getting the dye off my hands using some dirt!

Later on in the day we played some volleyball with people from the village and our instructors.   Needless to say the North America vs. Ghana game was pretty sad for us.  We got destroyed.  When we switched to having mixed teams it was a lot more fun and each team won a game.  A few of us are talking to Mensah to schedule another game.  It should be a lot of fun.  

For dinner we had a traditional Ghanaian feast.  I tried the Ground Nut and Chicken soup, which was amazingly delicious.  The chicken practically fell off the bone.  A few people told me that the Okra soup was pretty spicy, so I decided to stay away from it.  Maybe next time.

After dinner we all changed into our Ghanaian clothes if we had any, and got ready for the Dagbe Brass Concert.  One of my German friends, Joe, came here last year to kick start a program for brass instruments with instruments that were donated from friends of his.  He worked with the students for about a month, then came back one year later.  It was a very enjoyable concert. 

He is hoping to expand the program, he and I have discussed him bringing over some of my extra personal brass and percussion materials, along with a snare drum I have at home.  Anyone that has brass or percussion instruments around that they would like to donate, please let me know!!

Following that concert, during which we danced some Agbajah and other dances. A few were done in circles, which I am finding to happen a lot.




Plus, I got to see the shirt that Nani did for me, and it is AWESOME.  I love it!!!

Ghanaian Funeral

August 6, 2011

On weekends we don’t have our regular classes.  This gives us time for excursions and other classes we don’t normally have time for.   I chose to take Batik making.  Batik is a type of cloth that is dyed in various ways.  I worked with a wax print to create a pattern on my fabric.  The symbol I chose means unity.  Some people chose to use other techniques like marbling, folding, and spinning.  I made my fabric entirely purple except for the wax.  I am hoping to make a skirt out of it. 

This afternoon we went to our first Ghanian funeral.  Let me tell you, we need to use some of these traditions!  They celebrate the life of the person by throwing a big party.  Everyone dresses in traditional wraps and dances Agbajah.

Left: Allie and I were twins in our wraps as we stood in the gazebo before we left for the funeral ceremony.

Below: Tara and I get ready to dance before walking into the funeral.















We learned this dance during our libation ceremony on the first day at Dagbe.   While we were there, we saw hundreds of people dancing and singing, some playing drums.  Many of us were invited to dance with them.  It was a great time.  We were all soaking wet from a combination of rain and sweat, but it was a beautiful celebration.  They carry the casket through the crowd of dancers lead by a brass and drum band.  At the end, they lower the casket and fire off gunshots. 

 Below: I danced with a lot of the local people during the ceremony, this woman had me dance with her several times!

Dinner was a whole new experience.  Ghana meets America.  We had yam fries and chicken.  This of course launched another discussion of what foods we miss dearly.   Please read the next post for our list. 

Foods We Crave

Here is the list created by myself, Allie, Kerrie, Ashley, Davida, and Katie:

Milk, Deli Meat, Pizza, Steak, Potato, Turkey or Ham Sandwiches, Lettuce, Cucumbers, Carrots, Cereal, Blueberries, Pulled Pork/Chicken Sandwiches with BBQ sauce, Apples, Watermelon, Candy Bars (Mars, Snickers, Twix, Skittles, Three Musketeers, Taffy, Fudge), Celery, CHEESE!!!!!!, cold beverages, Starbucks, Cheesecake, Tortilla Chips, Mexican food, Bagels, Cream Cheese, Chocolate, Corn on the Cob, Butter, Junk Food in general, Poutine (that was from the Canadians), Ice Cream/Pops/Italian Ice, Nachos, and Potato Chips.

It is amazing how much we take ice and refrigeration for granted.  Please eat these things for us while we are here. 

Hello Boston!

August 5, 2011

We finally finished Gahu!  It was a very impressive victory for all of us.   The group is looking really good too!  Hooray!  The ending is kind of neat with all of  us pairing off and dancing off the stage.  It reminded me a lot of previous dances I have done. 

I am feeling a bit tired, probably from all of the exertion I have been putting my body through. 

I really appreciate the teaching style that Nani uses during our drum classes.  He breaks everything down the way it is taught in Ghana then follows it up with an Americanized version of teaching.  We never use sheet music or notation, but I am picking it up faster and faster.  Nani knows some of the American styles because he moved to Boston a few years ago.  This makes it very easy to understand him.  He has started using phrases like “OMG!” which makes all of us laugh. 

After dinner, I practiced Kpanlogo with Odartey again.  (By the way I finally learned how to spell his name correctly.)  We worked on merging the female and male parts of the song.  It was a big challenge for me to dance with him, but my audience of fellow trip members enjoyed watching.  I will hopefully have a video of the performance in the concert to show everyone when I get back. 

Tonight was also the Kopeyia crawl.  During this our group went from place to place in Kopeyia dancing, singing, and having a great time.  I somehow ended up rapping the song “Baby Got Back” to provide some a capella entertainment.  How I knew all the words is a mystery.  I retired a bit earlier than most so I could recover from my dance lesson, and get a much-needed shower.

Rain and Ice Cream

August 3, 2011

We had our first experience with an African rainstorm this morning.  In the weeee hours of the morning, we all heard what sounded like loud drums.  It was actually the rain pouring from the sky and landing on our roof.  Good if you like listening to rain, bad if you have to use the bathroom. (The rest rooms that we use are located outside.)
Dance class was pretty interesting.  We now know the first five variations of Gahu.  Each variation seems to be more exhausting than the last.

After dance, I took a kente cloth weaving class with one of the teachers named David.  It was actually a little easier than I thought it would be, once you get the hang of it.  You use your feet to switch off the strands of thread, weaving another piece with black thread through it.  As you go, you have to use your free hand (depending on which side has the thread black is on) to push the threads closer with another tool.  It was pretty cool.

Drumming got a bit more intense today as well, with the introduction of the sogo part.  I am so pumped to be learning the sogo!  First off, I will be bringing one back to the U.S. with me, so I can keep it up.  Second, it is one of the lower drums, and I like low sounds.  J  The sogo part is pretty hard, but I still think the trickiest one for me is the kidi part.  The way they teach us the drumming parts here is with a special drumming language.  It takes a while to catch onto it, but it is very helpful.

I had another dance lesson with Odante this evening.  He is teaching me a dance duet that I will actually perform at the concert next week with him as my partner.  He is an amazing dancer, so that is pretty intimidating.  Palongo (kpanlogo) is the dance he is teaching me.  It is considered to be one of the more creative dances, starting with the female part, followed by the male part, then we join for a duet.  The moves are pretty strenuous, I am pretty sure I sweat more in an hour long private dance lesson with Odante than I do in the 2 hour morning dance session.  It is a lot of fun though, and he says I am doing well.

After showering, I went with Davida and Kerrie to Emmanuel’s house where they have beverages and treats in the evening time.  This was where I found my new favorite thing.  Fan Ice- Vanilla.  It is basically vanilla soft serve in a little pouch, but so much better than regular soft serve.  IT IS AMAZING!  I am going to have to try really hard not to eat some every day!

Sleep is very necessary

August 4, 2011

Today was a bit rough.  I woke up and I was just not feeling well.  Being the way that I am, I tried to push through.  I made it through most of dance class before I had to sit out.  I didn’t get as sick as other people have, but I definitely wasn’t myself. 
After dance, I went to my room and slept from 11-3 and woke up to eat one of my granola bars before drum class.  I felt a little better after the extra sleep. 
It is quite possible; I just did too much physical exertion and didn’t give myself enough food calories to counteract my burn.  Who knows, but I am feeling a bit better now.  Hopefully, I will wake up in the morning completely refreshed.

I will say that I got a chance to talk with some of the younger teachers on the Dagbe staff today; they are 19 and 20 years old.  Allie and I were helping Jackson, who is 20 years old and an incredible drummer, read through a fairy tale book.  His English reading skills are quite good!  After that my morning dance class partner Enoch, who is 19, and I got to talking about music and life in general.  We actually went on my laptop and started listening to some of the American music that he likes.  He is a new fan of “Teach Me How To Dougie”.  He also apparently likes listening to Michael Jackson, Rihanna, and……Celine Dion.   He was also helping me fix the new sogo variation part that I was having some trouble with today.  Very helpful.

3 dance lessons in one day is considered crazy.

August 2, 2011

Another day at Dagbe!  This morning’s dance lesson was intense!  Thankfully it started drizzling and we felt the breeze while we danced Gahu.  We have learned the basic movements, along with four variations of it so far.   After dance we had our lunch of spaghetti with a spicy vegetable sauce.  It was sooooooo good!  I was craving some pasta.  

After lunch, I took a second lesson on the Tokoe dance.  I can’t wait to teach it to my first graders next year!  It is hard to believe that I did two sessions of dance in the morning…and I am still doing another private lesson with Odante at night!  I am pretty sure I have sweat off about three pounds already!

During our afternoon drum session, we discovered that there is now a pair of German musicians at the center with us now.  In order to join our drum class, we all needed to go to libation again.  This way everyone was part of the family.   At drum class, our new friends joined us.   We were also introduced to playing the kidi.  The Gahu pattern for kidi was much harder than the pattern for the kagan, especially when we had to play it for the faster section of the song.   I will eventually get it though.  Mense has been helping me with that particular pattern and he assures me that I am very good for a beginner. 

Dinner was another rice dish, this time with a beef component.  YUM!  I am also starting to get used to having oranges and pineapple with every meal.  I am thinking that is a tradition I should bring back to the United States!

I am posting this just after dinner, but before I will be going to my evening dance class with Odante.  He assures me that I will be extremely tired after learning the new dance.  Hopefully that means I will be going right to sleep after I shower.

More to come later!!

P.S.  I am on my 5^th bottle of water… and we drink the 1.5 liter bottles!!

Sweat: The new weight loss method!

August 1, 2011

Today was our first day of classes.  I have not exercised that hard since I took Dr. Corley’s class back at MU.  Kerrie and I kept laughing that we sweat off a few pounds during dance class. 

The first dance we are learning is called Gahu.  It means “money drum.”  The dance got its name because Ghanaian people don’t traditionally spend money on costumes for dances, but when this dance came from the Yorba people of Nigeria, they specified that a certain costume.  These costly costumes created the name of the dance. 

After we sweat out our breakfast, which was bread and peanut butter with bananas, we were given the treat of young coconut water…. still in the coconut to drink.  Needless to say, that was an experience I will not forget.  Who knew that there were so many electrolytes in coconut water, more so than Gatorade!! After the coconuts, we had a chance to shower off before going to lunch. 

The shower was absolutely crazy.  You have to turn the water on and off in between things.  I think I was in the shower for a total of 1 minute and a few seconds. Very impressive.

Lunch contained fish, so I just ate the fruit and one of my protein bars, just in case. (So I didn’t have to worry about my allergies acting up.) 

After lunch, we went to the market in Denu.  The Denu market is open every four days.  It is very hectic.  They sell all sorts of things, the most pungent of which was fish.  Everywhere, there were fish, beans, sugar, and of course batik and kente fabric.  That was my big-ticket item, I bought I couple yards in a few patterns of kente cloth, which I later dropped off at a tailor to make me some clothes.  So everyone at Spruce Run better get ready for some bright patterns!

When we got back from market, it was time for drum class, where we are learning the drum part for Gahu.  We worked mostly on the ahtackhe ( a rattle sometimes referred to as a shakere),  gatingo ( like the agago bells), and the kagan ( a small drum with an open bottom).  We also learned about the kidi (medium drum with a closed bottom and a small hole in the side), the sogo (which I will be bringing back), and the boba ( the master drum). I got to play all three of the instruments we were focusing on today!  Mostly, I played the kagan.  The faster they pushed us, the more challenging the rhythmic content got.  I was very proud of myself for keeping up and learning all three parts.

Dinner came after drumming: rice and chicken, along with some oranges.  After that, around 8:00pm, I had my first small group lesson.  We took a dance lesson with Mensah, one of our teachers.  The name of the dance is Tokoe and it was a request I had for a dance that my students would be able to learn and perform.  So, they will be learning that when I get back! J