Cultural immersion: Ghana

[ghanatravels]

Saturday, 21 December

Last day in Accra, last day in Ghana. A lot of time was spent just hanging out playing cards. In the morning, I went back to the arts market for some more shopping. I also went to the memorial for the first president of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, and Independence Square. The memorial was one of the coolest things I've ever photographed. The architecture was so neat and unique. It really seemed out of place in Ghana. When we got to Independence Square, there was a big festival happening. It was a thanksgiving feast for a church. It took up the whole lot. We walked through and the ladies were wearing these amazing dresses made out of the Ghanaian flag. Before loading up the trotros to head to the airport, Evelyn and I took one last walk on the beach. It was such a nice walk. We ran across some guys practicing a dance with hats and there were kids playing in the water that started talking to us. It was a nice last thing to experience. 

[ghanatravels]

Friday, 20 December

We visited Kakum National Park today. We walked across a canopy, about 131 ft in the air. It was absolutely awesome. I felt like I was in Tarzan. If only we could swing on some vines. The trees were all so unique looking, at least nothing like I've ever seen. The walkways were connected between 7 trees. The walk through the forest was really special too. We were led by Samson who stopped to talk about different plants and trees and their uses. There was a giant whole in the ground that he said people had used to capture animals.

In the last photo, a new tree is growing from within the old dying one. It's really quite remarkable, the power of nature. Some of the trees have big buttresses which would have been used for shelter.

[ghanatravels]

Thursday, 19 December

We visited Cape Coast Castle today. It was a very emotional trip. We walked through the dungeons and to think about what actual happened there is horrifying. Our tour guide said he just wants people to take responsibility for their actions and he doesn't have any hard feelings. He wants everyone to be at peace and accept that we are all one human race. I really like the things he had to say. It was a very exhausting experience. I felt extremely uncomfortable photographing, but not everyone could so I did my best. It was really just something I wanted to see and experience and not be seeing everything through a lens. I took more photos of the ocean than anything else. 

[ghanatravels]

Wednesday, 18 December

Hanging out on the beach in Anomabo. We had a bonfire in the evening! It was really fun to explore and just relax with everyone. 

[ghanatravels]

Wednesday, 18 December

We left Dagbe today and traveled to Anomabo. We stayed at a beach resort and were able to go swimming! It made for a great afternoon. I'll make another post with more beach photos. 

[ghanatravels]

Tuesday, 17 December

In the afternoon before our performance, I found a lizard in our room. He was so tiny. He was hiding behind the cabinet and I saw him climb the wall towards the window. I wasn't really sure what to do, but Jackson and Elekem came in with some sticks and started banging the walls to make it leave. I named him Walter. 

Evelyn decided she wanted to climb a coconut tree. 

[ghanatravels]

Tuesday, 17 December

Performance day at Dagbe. It was a big day for all of us! We got to perform our dance and drumming for some people in the village. It was mostly children who came but it was really fun. I manged to make it through the performance without screwing up too hugely. The drumming portion of the performance was really fun. Each instrument had a helper drummer, but I thought we did pretty well, especially for only having 3 drumming classes. We got to watch some of the staff members dance too which was really fun. There was also a puppeteer who did a few puppet dances. The brass band from the school played too. They were so incredibly loud. The bell and some of the other drums started playing with them, which I thought was a neat juxtaposition. 

[ghanatravels]

Monday, 16 December

This is my only photo from today. I went to the local market in Denu with a few others that afternoon. All of the shops and restaurants had interesting names, such as this "Obama fast food." All the signs were in English, but the people in the area always spoke Ewe to each other. Other signs included "Jesus reigns plastics", "Love and peace design and fashion", "Try Jesus digital photo lab", and "Eating place 24/7". 

The market was an adventure. It takes place every four days and it's where you can buy almost anything. Food, clothes, shoes, toothpaste, towels. I bough a lot of fabric. The patterns were absolutely gorgeous and I'm very glad I went back to get more. We went to the market on our first day at Dagbe. I will never forget the smell: dried fish.

[ghanatravels]

Sunday, 15 December

An afternoon at the Denu beach. It's mostly a fisherman's beach. When a boat goes out to sea, they usually stay out about 2 days and before they reel in their nets. In the fourth photo, the boy is running to meet the boat to help pull in the nets. The beach had a large slant down to the water and the tide came up really high. We were caught by surprise the first time and a lot us went home a bit damp. The undertow is too strong here for any swimming, as with most of the coastline of Ghana.

On our way back to Dagbe, we stopped for fan ice and I made a huge mess in the taxi. It's ice cream in a bag and I ripped my bag open too far. Rookie mistake.. 

[ghanatravels]

Saturday, 14 December

One drumming group at the funeral.

[ghanatravels]

Saturday, 14 December

We went to a funeral today. There were dancers and drummers everywhere. People were doing the same dance around the space and anyone could join. It was quite a sight to see and it was very loud. This was a normal size funeral too. The person who died was a member of the thunder god shrine in the village of Kopeyia. Friday morning there were canon shots (just gun powder) to let surrounding villages know that there was going to be a funeral.

[ghanatravels]

Friday 13 December This is the dance we learned. It's called Gahu. This is a shorter version than what is usually performed and shorter than ours. There's many more variations and they usually last longer.

[ghanatravels]

Friday December 13

First full day at Dagbe! Evelyn was playing with her friend Ablavi in the morning. Such a sweet, sassy little girl. Her mom was part of the kitchen staff.

I was mesmerized by the afternoon light streaming through my mosquito netting. It was quite peaceful at the village and really everywhere in Ghana. They are a very peaceful people. 

The beloved summer hut. We learned everything there. It was a meeting point, a learning center, a place to relax and to play. 

Some of the staff members are setting up for our drumming class. We learned all kinds of rhythms and instruments. My favorite was playing the sogo. It had the most changes throughout the piece and each rhythm was so unique. 

[ghanatravels]

This is Odartey. He was our dance instructor at Dagbe. He's sitting at the hut of the village bar.

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Thursday December 12 This is Sapira. I met her on our tour of the village. She was quite content to hold my hand as we walked through the houses. I think she was a sibling of one of the staff members.

[ghanatravels]

Thursday, 12 December

We took part in a libations ceremony, asking the spirits to welcome us to their land and to keep us safe. This is where we first learned about akpateshie, a drink that's pretty much 100% alcohol. 

We then took a tour of the village. All of the village children wanted to be our friends and hold hands. They were quite fascinated with our cameras too. 

The statue is of the founder of Dagbe and the village school. He has done a lot for the community. 

[ghanatravels]

Thursday, 12 December

We traveled from Accra to the village of Kopeyia, where Dagbe is located. The drive was so interesting. One minute we would be driving on a highway and the next we were in the middle of a village. The rural countryside was covered with coconut trees and palm trees. There were lots of half finished buildings made out of cement blocks. They look like they had been abandoned for a while. Many were overgrown with vines and other vegetation. When we got to Dagbe the staff was very excited. =] They played us a welcome song as we unloaded the bus.