So last weekend I had one of my huge shows for the semester. It was the one about the golden stool of the Ashanti's choreographed by my friend Diana who is in her final year of her undergraduate degree. We performed three shows as custom Thursday, Friday and Saturday. However, as I have told you about every other show here, something crazy always happens on the first night. This shows catastrophy the first night was the sound, which was playing everything but what it was supposed to be playing all at the wrong time. Kinda a mess for the dancers huh. And the drummer forgot to drum, which was exciting, and a man was supposed to play the bell in another dance and he forgot. So it was a tech dress rehearsal with a paying audience. Kinda a mess wouldn't you say! However, by the last night we pulled outselves together and ended up with a fantastic and entertaining show we could all be proud of!
this weekend I have another show, in which I am Ananse the spider King, as well as a civilian. I am very excited about my roll but I also have to say that I will be glad when this show is over! being in three very intense productions this semester (while very fun) have become rather overwhelming especially in the time of finals and I am very excited for my trip however brief it is to Togo and Benin next week. I feel like some time outside of Accra is very well deserved at this point!
I will see some of you very soon and I will see some of you in a month. Keep in mind I am freaking out about your gifts, and I am also freaking out about how to take Ghana home with me!!!
lots of love!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
This weekend I...
Was on African television, got attacked by a monkey, drank Starbucks coffee, went to the longest church service of my life, ate Chinese food and chocolate cake, and was told that I look good in traditional Muslim clothing.
I guess I better explain!
On Friday of this weekend my friend Faisal invited me to a program with his dance company called Africana Dance Ensemble. Just so everyone knows, a program is anything you go to: a play, a dance, a concert, a soccer match etc. The dance company is full of awesome and fun people whom I met at the beginning of my trip here, but have not been able to get to know very well, because of schedules, until now. Anyhow, I knew this program would be live at a TV station, but I did not know that I would be sitting in the audience (during their performance) which was also covered by the cameras! My friends danced an awesome and crazy war dance from South Africa. It was completely amazing to watch my friends do such a high energy dance live for cameras, and it was doubly amazing being there to cheer them on and make funny faces with them as they warmed up on stage. My only issue was that I sat next to a man who did not want to watch the show, he instead wanted to talk to me about getting his hair to be like mine (which is to my boobs now) and about what shampoo I use. Thank you Ghanaian man for trying to ruin the moment! After the show, as we waited for the bus to come to take us back to where they practice, the youngest member of Africana at the age of 17 taught me about being a Muslim, and a Muslim girl in Ghana, and tied scarves around my head just like she ties hers. After she tied it she showed everyone in the company my new do, and they all thought that it looked perfect on me. The funniest part was that all the guys were the ones that said it looked so good.
Saturday I read an entire book in one day and felt very good about myself.
Sunday I woke up, got showered (after waiting in a long line for the shower, I was behind Auntie Julie who takes about an hour to shower,) and put on my almost acceptable "church outfit" and went to Holy Trinity with my family. They are always asking me to go to church with them, and I have only gone once before so I thought that I would go one last time before I leave and that would be fine. Little did I remember that service is in three languages and lasts three hours long, at shortest. AHHHHH. After that I rewarded my good church behavior with Mounds (chocolate and coconut anyone!!!) The rest of the day was rather dull until i was pleasantly surprised by chinese take-out, very expensive here, and chocolate cake for my Auntie Edith's birthday and her cousins one year anniversary. We all sang, ate too much and had a great time. Then Kierstin my dear friend came over, we watched American movies, slept in in the morning, made Starbucks coffee in a french press (both sent to her by her parents) and watched the Bank Job. I had rehearsal later that day and nothing else very note worthy.
Monday I had rehearsal for my composition project for class and went to visit Faisal at his shop. It was there that I got attacked by the monkey that was attached to the tree by a rope. The monkeys already hate me, but Faisal convinced me that they would like me if I put yogurt in my hand and fed it to them. So I did so, and at first it was the most amazing thing. And then the monkey thought that I had more and jumped on me, hung from my pocket and scratched me and yelled. I almost fell down the hill, and yelled at Faisal for tricking me. Now I have a cool story to tell, so I guess I should have thanked him instead.
This week I have tests in my practical (dance and drumming subjects!) wish me luck!!!!
I guess I better explain!
On Friday of this weekend my friend Faisal invited me to a program with his dance company called Africana Dance Ensemble. Just so everyone knows, a program is anything you go to: a play, a dance, a concert, a soccer match etc. The dance company is full of awesome and fun people whom I met at the beginning of my trip here, but have not been able to get to know very well, because of schedules, until now. Anyhow, I knew this program would be live at a TV station, but I did not know that I would be sitting in the audience (during their performance) which was also covered by the cameras! My friends danced an awesome and crazy war dance from South Africa. It was completely amazing to watch my friends do such a high energy dance live for cameras, and it was doubly amazing being there to cheer them on and make funny faces with them as they warmed up on stage. My only issue was that I sat next to a man who did not want to watch the show, he instead wanted to talk to me about getting his hair to be like mine (which is to my boobs now) and about what shampoo I use. Thank you Ghanaian man for trying to ruin the moment! After the show, as we waited for the bus to come to take us back to where they practice, the youngest member of Africana at the age of 17 taught me about being a Muslim, and a Muslim girl in Ghana, and tied scarves around my head just like she ties hers. After she tied it she showed everyone in the company my new do, and they all thought that it looked perfect on me. The funniest part was that all the guys were the ones that said it looked so good.
Saturday I read an entire book in one day and felt very good about myself.
Sunday I woke up, got showered (after waiting in a long line for the shower, I was behind Auntie Julie who takes about an hour to shower,) and put on my almost acceptable "church outfit" and went to Holy Trinity with my family. They are always asking me to go to church with them, and I have only gone once before so I thought that I would go one last time before I leave and that would be fine. Little did I remember that service is in three languages and lasts three hours long, at shortest. AHHHHH. After that I rewarded my good church behavior with Mounds (chocolate and coconut anyone!!!) The rest of the day was rather dull until i was pleasantly surprised by chinese take-out, very expensive here, and chocolate cake for my Auntie Edith's birthday and her cousins one year anniversary. We all sang, ate too much and had a great time. Then Kierstin my dear friend came over, we watched American movies, slept in in the morning, made Starbucks coffee in a french press (both sent to her by her parents) and watched the Bank Job. I had rehearsal later that day and nothing else very note worthy.
Monday I had rehearsal for my composition project for class and went to visit Faisal at his shop. It was there that I got attacked by the monkey that was attached to the tree by a rope. The monkeys already hate me, but Faisal convinced me that they would like me if I put yogurt in my hand and fed it to them. So I did so, and at first it was the most amazing thing. And then the monkey thought that I had more and jumped on me, hung from my pocket and scratched me and yelled. I almost fell down the hill, and yelled at Faisal for tricking me. Now I have a cool story to tell, so I guess I should have thanked him instead.
This week I have tests in my practical (dance and drumming subjects!) wish me luck!!!!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
What do ya say...
As my time here comes to a close I am obviously getting the question "are you ready to leave Ghana?" more and more frequently. My answer is, " I am ready to go home." It is not that I haven't had a great experience here, but I am missing my friends, my family and my school. I am missing my clothes and being able to talk on the phone without having to worry about having enough credit. But there are also things in Ghana that I will definitely miss upon my return to the cold. I will miss all the awesome people that I have met here, and the great dance teachers. I will miss the food and the funny things people say! Things like "I am coming" which actually means they are not coming, "it's finished" for its gone, or done and "It's nice, but I don't like it." At first I was so baffled by statements like these, but there is a certain charm in them once you expect them. Also what will I do when everyone is on time. Here you plan that everyone will be half an hour late no matter what, at home it is not the case.
before I go I have much more to do, but always in my mind is my flight home and seeing all of you!
Monday I will tell you all about the rehearsal process in Ghana, and then you will never hate rehearsal ever again.
before I go I have much more to do, but always in my mind is my flight home and seeing all of you!
Monday I will tell you all about the rehearsal process in Ghana, and then you will never hate rehearsal ever again.
Monday, April 12, 2010
back from Kumasi...
And now for the Morning Report!
"To lay before my ruler all the facts about his relm to fill him in on all the beastly news"... "Chimps are going ape. giraffes remain above it all. Elephants remember though just what i can't recall. Crocodiles are snapping up fresh offers from the bank, showed interest in my nest egg but quickly said no thanks. we havent paid the hornbills and the vultures have a hunch that not everyone invited will be coming back for lunch...."
So after that happened we went to Kumasi for the weekend. The drive there is 5 hours long and it was so nice to just look out the window at the small towns flying by, do some reading for class and then, because of those readings, fall asleep for an hour or two and have a lovely nap! Upon arrival in Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region we went to the palace of the Ashanti king and the Ashanti Kingdom museum to learn about the largest population in Ghana and the kingdoms rulers and history. We also learned about the history of the stool, the gold and the black (ask me later) and the most rocking woman ever Nana Yaa Asantewaa who stood up and asked her fellow men why they were not fighting for their Kingdom against the British, when the British had already captured their King. She then led the men in battle against the British, hid the golden stool, caused a lot of uproar and was imprisoned! This was in the 1900's. After the museum (where we traded in our aweful tourguide for a good one) we went to the largest market in West Africa, and oh my god it was huge!!! I got tons of fabric and some jewlery, but my friends got some crazy things including Obama biscuits, snails, blackberries (which are nothing like the ones we get at home,) and unidentifiable candies that tasted like nothing. I really enjoyed that each vender was much more relaxed than the ones in Accra. They would let you take your time and look around. They might try to be extra helpful and even if you are not sure you wanted something they would find it for you anyway, but if you said mehw3 (I am looking) they would leave you to your shopping. I guess these vendors learned that when dealing with white people the best way to make money is to let the American or European take their time. The other thing i really liked about this market was that they didnt try to rip you off like so many other places. For example my friend was buying snails and the woman quoted 5 cedis for one snail and then laughed like crazy. Because she laughed he knew that that was crazy and worked the price down to 2 cedis for 6 snails. People would also say a price and then say that it was not the final price: the final price is whatever you wanted to pay, within reason. I wish we could have stayed longer to explore the market more (even after getting my hair caught on a fish that was sticking out of a bowl on a womans head as she walked by,) but we were on schedule. That evening we had dinner at the hotel and the cook prepared my friends snails in a soup. The evening continued in a very relaxing way with airconditioning and movies and CNN on tv. That night in our airconditioned hotel room my friend and I froze. The most we ever use to keep cool at night is a fan, so we went from not sleeping under anything to sleeping with our sheets, our blankets, and our wraps to keep warm it was not a pleasent feeling to be so cold. The next morning we went to the Kente village to try our hands at weaving and learn about the history. I really enjoyed weaving and it reminded me of those times at Camp Namanu were you could elect to go weave in the weaving house and make your own rug or something. If you know what I am talking about imagine it five times more complex. there are levers to be pulled, some you pull with your toes, things to be flipped and many strings to be passed over or under in order to make some of the most beautiful designs and patterns. If you want to know more about Kente..... Google it! or wait for me to get home! After the kente village we went to the Adinkra symbols village where we got to see how they made the dye they used to print awesome and incredibly meaningful designs on cloth to originally be worn at funerals, but are now worn all the time. There are symbols like the moon that mean loyalty or faithfulness because the moon is in the sky every night. Or symbols like the two fish: when one fish bits the other does too, so it is a symbol to remind those to be harmonious. There are so many more and I will be bringing home a book of the symbols to show people. This weekend was a weekend of learning and shopping and...... shopping. After all this shopping we went to a lake that was created by a meiter, simular to Crater lake. A few friends and I went out in a canoe, and then the water was so tempting that i jumped in and swam back. I did not realize that this lake would have a current, or how far out I was. It was a good work out and the lake was beautiful and relaxing. That night went to dinner at a really fancy chinese restaurant, which looked like it was going to have great food and didn't. It's always funny when you think to yourself, "yeah I would love some chinese right now" and then you have chinese and you think to yourself, "this food sucks why didn't I have rice balls with ground nut soup or Kenkey or any other traditional Ghanaian food." That night Abena, the woman in charge of our trip took us out for a while to get drinks and listen to live music, which sounded like a fusion between latin jazz and Twi, and then back to the hotel for a thriller movie with Alicia Silverstone.... A+, and more CNN. The following day, Sunday, two friends and I went to the cultural center, while everyone else swam or slept at the hotel. We got lost on the way but it was really fun and I found that I really like Kumasi. We also found out that Kumasi has a zoo and were wondering if they had American animals there instead of African ones: the inverse of our zoos at home. The cultural center was nice and I would have liked to be there on a week day to see all that was going on. We went to the museum and ran around a bit and then had to be back at the hotel to join the bus and be on our way back to Accra. I am so thankful for all the trips that CIEE provides. The drama and the stress of Accra and Legon get so intense some times that an escape is so appreciated. We are now in our last week of classes and you all have to wish me luck because despite the fact that I have attended class I feel like I have learned NOTHING.,.. we shall see!
"To lay before my ruler all the facts about his relm to fill him in on all the beastly news"... "Chimps are going ape. giraffes remain above it all. Elephants remember though just what i can't recall. Crocodiles are snapping up fresh offers from the bank, showed interest in my nest egg but quickly said no thanks. we havent paid the hornbills and the vultures have a hunch that not everyone invited will be coming back for lunch...."
So after that happened we went to Kumasi for the weekend. The drive there is 5 hours long and it was so nice to just look out the window at the small towns flying by, do some reading for class and then, because of those readings, fall asleep for an hour or two and have a lovely nap! Upon arrival in Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region we went to the palace of the Ashanti king and the Ashanti Kingdom museum to learn about the largest population in Ghana and the kingdoms rulers and history. We also learned about the history of the stool, the gold and the black (ask me later) and the most rocking woman ever Nana Yaa Asantewaa who stood up and asked her fellow men why they were not fighting for their Kingdom against the British, when the British had already captured their King. She then led the men in battle against the British, hid the golden stool, caused a lot of uproar and was imprisoned! This was in the 1900's. After the museum (where we traded in our aweful tourguide for a good one) we went to the largest market in West Africa, and oh my god it was huge!!! I got tons of fabric and some jewlery, but my friends got some crazy things including Obama biscuits, snails, blackberries (which are nothing like the ones we get at home,) and unidentifiable candies that tasted like nothing. I really enjoyed that each vender was much more relaxed than the ones in Accra. They would let you take your time and look around. They might try to be extra helpful and even if you are not sure you wanted something they would find it for you anyway, but if you said mehw3 (I am looking) they would leave you to your shopping. I guess these vendors learned that when dealing with white people the best way to make money is to let the American or European take their time. The other thing i really liked about this market was that they didnt try to rip you off like so many other places. For example my friend was buying snails and the woman quoted 5 cedis for one snail and then laughed like crazy. Because she laughed he knew that that was crazy and worked the price down to 2 cedis for 6 snails. People would also say a price and then say that it was not the final price: the final price is whatever you wanted to pay, within reason. I wish we could have stayed longer to explore the market more (even after getting my hair caught on a fish that was sticking out of a bowl on a womans head as she walked by,) but we were on schedule. That evening we had dinner at the hotel and the cook prepared my friends snails in a soup. The evening continued in a very relaxing way with airconditioning and movies and CNN on tv. That night in our airconditioned hotel room my friend and I froze. The most we ever use to keep cool at night is a fan, so we went from not sleeping under anything to sleeping with our sheets, our blankets, and our wraps to keep warm it was not a pleasent feeling to be so cold. The next morning we went to the Kente village to try our hands at weaving and learn about the history. I really enjoyed weaving and it reminded me of those times at Camp Namanu were you could elect to go weave in the weaving house and make your own rug or something. If you know what I am talking about imagine it five times more complex. there are levers to be pulled, some you pull with your toes, things to be flipped and many strings to be passed over or under in order to make some of the most beautiful designs and patterns. If you want to know more about Kente..... Google it! or wait for me to get home! After the kente village we went to the Adinkra symbols village where we got to see how they made the dye they used to print awesome and incredibly meaningful designs on cloth to originally be worn at funerals, but are now worn all the time. There are symbols like the moon that mean loyalty or faithfulness because the moon is in the sky every night. Or symbols like the two fish: when one fish bits the other does too, so it is a symbol to remind those to be harmonious. There are so many more and I will be bringing home a book of the symbols to show people. This weekend was a weekend of learning and shopping and...... shopping. After all this shopping we went to a lake that was created by a meiter, simular to Crater lake. A few friends and I went out in a canoe, and then the water was so tempting that i jumped in and swam back. I did not realize that this lake would have a current, or how far out I was. It was a good work out and the lake was beautiful and relaxing. That night went to dinner at a really fancy chinese restaurant, which looked like it was going to have great food and didn't. It's always funny when you think to yourself, "yeah I would love some chinese right now" and then you have chinese and you think to yourself, "this food sucks why didn't I have rice balls with ground nut soup or Kenkey or any other traditional Ghanaian food." That night Abena, the woman in charge of our trip took us out for a while to get drinks and listen to live music, which sounded like a fusion between latin jazz and Twi, and then back to the hotel for a thriller movie with Alicia Silverstone.... A+, and more CNN. The following day, Sunday, two friends and I went to the cultural center, while everyone else swam or slept at the hotel. We got lost on the way but it was really fun and I found that I really like Kumasi. We also found out that Kumasi has a zoo and were wondering if they had American animals there instead of African ones: the inverse of our zoos at home. The cultural center was nice and I would have liked to be there on a week day to see all that was going on. We went to the museum and ran around a bit and then had to be back at the hotel to join the bus and be on our way back to Accra. I am so thankful for all the trips that CIEE provides. The drama and the stress of Accra and Legon get so intense some times that an escape is so appreciated. We are now in our last week of classes and you all have to wish me luck because despite the fact that I have attended class I feel like I have learned NOTHING.,.. we shall see!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
I'm singing in the rain!
Thursday night we opened our show "The Future of Dance" in the Sullivan Drama Studio/ Amphitheater. The energy was high and the audience was loving what we did. Everything was going so well. The emotion in the dance that I am in "A tribute to a Legend," a dance mourning the loss and celebrating the ex- head of the dance department who recently passed, was beyond with some of the mourners actually crying. My favorite dance, Manipula, was so on point with the two witch characters and the men dancing so strongly, and Kofi's energy was so high that he twisted his ankle in excitement. He is fine, and the show was great. AND THEN the "Witch of Sohu" happened. The witch comes up out of the floor with red lights and smoke calling her spirits and her, as my teacher calls them, "witch babies" to dance, and it just so happens that as she called them to dance she also called the rain. It came a little at first and we continued on with the show, but then it got serious and the sky opened up and nsuo to (water fell) at the same rate as a waterfall from the sky. And the dancers continued. The lights went out and the show continued by flashlight!!!!! It was amazing! As we went to bow the stage was a lake as was backstage. The rain lasted for maybe twenty minutes but it was more serious than any Portland rain I had ever experienced.
Also all of you, have a good Easter weekend. Unlike at home Easter is a national holiday here. We have Friday off from school as well as Monday! And then next weekend we go to Kumasi with CIEE.
I have so much to do before I leave and only 6 weeks left. wish me luck!
Also all of you, have a good Easter weekend. Unlike at home Easter is a national holiday here. We have Friday off from school as well as Monday! And then next weekend we go to Kumasi with CIEE.
I have so much to do before I leave and only 6 weeks left. wish me luck!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
I would like to say that....
I LOVE THE LIGHTING DESIGNERS AND LIGHT TECHS AT BARD SOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!
Last night was the last tech/ dress rehearsal before our show "The Future of Dance" Opens in the outdoor drama studio/ theater tonight, and oh my it was a bit of a mess. and that is an understatement in american standards. the previous night my professor had said that call time was 3:30pm so that we could finish costumes and hang lights so that when it got dark at 6:30 we would be ready to go. I arrived at 3:30, because he told us he would hit us with water sachets if we didn't do right, only to find another dance group in the space, a theater class in the space, props everywhere and not a dance professor to be found. My friend and I decided to give it an hour and then come back to see if any progress had been made. At 4:30 the director of the program was still not there and non of the dancers were there as well. At 5 people began to trickle in and the start time was set for 6pm. By 6:30 or 7 everyone was dressed in costume and looking great and ready to dance. Then we were informed that the lights were not right and that they didn't have a dimming board and other important lighting equipment. We then sat around for maybe 2 hours waiting for the lighting people to hang 20 lights (something they should have done earlier that day.) Then they had to focus the lights= more time. It was probably ten by the time we started our first run through with lights, which failed because the lighting people had not been watching the dances and thus didn't know the specials, important parts of the dances, and even which parts were group vs. solo work. So then we did notes and tried to run through the blocking that means we did what we did the first day of rehearsal, again. We finished around 3 in the morning and then argued for half an hour about where people were going to stay because it is dangerous to go off campus so late at night.
all in all it was a long night that would have been a few hours in the states. And if you think that my frustration and shock with this experience is purely because I am American, ask some of my Ghanaian friends what they thought of the day!
missing and loving Brian, Jeff, Moe, Kendra and everyone else in the PAC much love!!!!
Last night was the last tech/ dress rehearsal before our show "The Future of Dance" Opens in the outdoor drama studio/ theater tonight, and oh my it was a bit of a mess. and that is an understatement in american standards. the previous night my professor had said that call time was 3:30pm so that we could finish costumes and hang lights so that when it got dark at 6:30 we would be ready to go. I arrived at 3:30, because he told us he would hit us with water sachets if we didn't do right, only to find another dance group in the space, a theater class in the space, props everywhere and not a dance professor to be found. My friend and I decided to give it an hour and then come back to see if any progress had been made. At 4:30 the director of the program was still not there and non of the dancers were there as well. At 5 people began to trickle in and the start time was set for 6pm. By 6:30 or 7 everyone was dressed in costume and looking great and ready to dance. Then we were informed that the lights were not right and that they didn't have a dimming board and other important lighting equipment. We then sat around for maybe 2 hours waiting for the lighting people to hang 20 lights (something they should have done earlier that day.) Then they had to focus the lights= more time. It was probably ten by the time we started our first run through with lights, which failed because the lighting people had not been watching the dances and thus didn't know the specials, important parts of the dances, and even which parts were group vs. solo work. So then we did notes and tried to run through the blocking that means we did what we did the first day of rehearsal, again. We finished around 3 in the morning and then argued for half an hour about where people were going to stay because it is dangerous to go off campus so late at night.
all in all it was a long night that would have been a few hours in the states. And if you think that my frustration and shock with this experience is purely because I am American, ask some of my Ghanaian friends what they thought of the day!
missing and loving Brian, Jeff, Moe, Kendra and everyone else in the PAC much love!!!!
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