Catching Up

Well, I obviously didn't get net access in the last week in Klikor, so its been a while... Im in Kumasi now (homestay #2, at that), so I'll update more. More on Kumasi next entry; i'll finish up on the events of Klikor here.

The second week in our Volta hideaway turned out much, much better than the first, I'd say. There are a lot of good reasons for that - the simple fact that we adjusted to the schedule, the fact that we moved past boring supporting rhythms and did the actual lead part, and many others. We got to see a series of performances of all sorts - most associated with shrines, actually - that were absolutely fascinating and quite enlightening even though they were out of context at times (a fact that's bothering me in general due to the cultural emphasis of the program). Perhaps the most fun aspect of any of the performances is participation - we constantly get pulled up to drum or dance, regardless of our talent (and when it comes to dance, I have none) and everyone has a great time. It's a great atmospheric thing.

Speaking of playing, I feel like my drumming is really progressing. And not just the local rhythms - I think my overall technique and feel for tempo is improving with the amount of practice Im getting. I've got a good grasp of the various rhythms we've done, and hopefully I can make use of their principles in my drumming, both African and otherwise. Gahu has a particularly cool lead part, which should be handy. The guitar thing is going OK too - I haven't practiced enough to be terribly good yet, but Im getting a decent grasp of how it works, and i know a few chords now, plus I can play a few things (most amusicly, the bassline to Psycho Killer and most of Blister In The Sun). Hopefully Ill have a few songs down when I return.

There are two specific incidents from the last weekend at Klikor that bear mentioning, simply because theyre really interesting (great reason, I know). The more intruiging was right next door: the building next to us was a shrine in which an old woman was a medium for a spirit (which apparently came from India?) which she used to read people's stars (that is, a fortune teller). I was kind of skeptical at first, of course, but after a couple people did it I found it didnt sound like the typical hocus-pocus, so I decided to give it a shot. It was an Experience. I won't talk details, but the process by which she did it was highly fascinating and the results were even more so. Some were quite correct, some seemed right but not at the right time, and some were bizarre and mystical, like the commandment not to go to India in search of powers, because if I do someone will give me bad spirits. Curious, and highly worthwhile.

The other noteworthy occasion was more of an outing. Several of us decided that sunday to go to the beach, but to try somewhere unusual. We ended up at Keta Lagoon, the largest in the country, and the strange town of Keta. The lagoon was amazing. it was huge, and looked even more expansive and infinite thanks to the overcast day. There were points when we were on a narrow strip of land between the sea and the lagoon, and it honestly felt like the ends of the earth, in a breathtaking way. That only heightened when we reached town - the waterfront is mainly composed of early-20th century British colonial houses that have crumbled into decay, between abandonment and wavefronts. There was also a Danish slave castle in even worse repair; the entirety of the place felt like a study in entropy. The fact that the Tourist Entertainment Centre consisted of four empty huts on the beach was a nice touch. The beach itself was weird but great- the wave broke near shore, but hit a sandbar so became more like rushes of water except for the crushing breakpoints, and the current was huge, so huge the undertow formed what looked like backward waves in a perpendiculare direction to the shore. That made for a good time, to add to the rest of the strange but low-key day. Luckily, we ended up not going to the town of Woe while we were there.

So all in all, Klikor turned out well. Hopefully now that Im in Kumasi I'll have more time to write, so I can get more analytical. Till next we meet, S.