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!