Holidays in the Sun

Well, I failed to update at the end of the program for very palpable reasons: I had a paper to write, a performance to prepare, and a lot of affairs to finish up with, not to mention the craziness of the goings-on in that last week. Suffice to say, I couldn't manage a proper entry and didn't want to waste time putting up some lackluster crap. Thus I waited. Now I'm on my sunny, sedate island with nothing pressing to do other than go to the beach, chill out and think, so I have a decent amoun t of time to write. I don't have an internet connection at home, though, so it'll still be a bit sporadic; such is life. Expect some final descriptive entries followed by reflection, and eventually I might get around to putting up some pictures.

So Kumasi... I think it was my favourite place we stayed over the course of the program. It's a sizable city, but not as big, sprawling, overwhelming and smelly as Accra, but we were more spread over the city and less provided for, thus we got more acquainted with the city. It's lovely - rolling hills, not too many ugly modern buildings, lots to do - including West Africa's largest market, which is the most intensive sensory overload I've ever experienced. My homestay was great too - a big extended family all in one house, with the father being a junior secondary maths teacher and three kids (8, 11, 13) always hanging around me. Plus it was adjacent to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, so the surroundings were interesting enough. I had a great time, even if I never got much peace.

The actual program in Kumasi was a bit of a mixed bag. For one thing, we saw a few great performances, most notably a show of the choral Nnwomkoro style. We also met Koo Nimo, a titan of palmwine guitar, great music scholar, and all-around cool guy. He organised an amazing show for us, gave us lots of literature and information, and was generally nice to be around. But our actual classes... well, they weren't quite as amazing. The rhythms seemed easy and static compared to the previous ones (order effects...) and the instructors were clearly good musicians but inexperienced teachers - classes simply weren't organised in such a way as to let us all learn all the parts well. They were still enjoyable, but the knowledge that they copuld have been considerably better was frustrating. Overall, though, I liked my time in Kumasi a lot.

More soon; next is summary of the last week, then lots of reflection and miscellany. Enjoy your life. S.