Sunday, May 31, 2015
Monday, May 25, 2015
Last night in Kopeyai
Before the trip started, Joss said that right around the time we left was when we would have finally begun to feel comfortable and settled in here. I now know what she means. Tonight is our last night in the village. We performed what we'd learned, watched some amazing performances from our teachers and some local kids and had a great meal. My only regret is that I didn't learn more about these amazing people and their amazing music. I suppose it's just insentive to come back someday. I feel so deeply thankful for all that everyone here has done for us and all they've given us. I've met some incredibly inspiration people and some people that are just plain old fun. It's sad to leave, but being the homebody I am, I do feel like I'm ready to head back to old Bellows Falls, though I've got a few days to go.
Final Thoughts
Hey so this is Jess not Ben.
Unfortunately tomorrow morning we will be departing from Dagbe. We have made some good friends and memories here and it is a really bittersweet close to a great almost two weeks.
Today we presented to the village of Kopeyia what we have learned here. I participated in three dances, one of which is a social dance and occurs everywhere you go. Tonight we had a feast with the staff members and it was amazing to be able to interact with them a bit longer.
Wrapping things up was hard but it was interesting to see how much learning you can fit into a very short time. Not only the short amount of time that we have been here but today itself. I was taught how to weave kente with multple colors horizontally today whereas previously I could omly weave one string at a time.
Something I find very interesting about here is that although the children are children, they are also very muture in a few ways and given a lot of responsibility that Americans do not give their children. The atmosphere here is much more relaxed, trusting, and friendly than that in America. It will be insanely hard to adjust back to a very fast-pased and anti-social lifestyle that we go by in America.
Unfortunately tomorrow morning we will be departing from Dagbe. We have made some good friends and memories here and it is a really bittersweet close to a great almost two weeks.
Today we presented to the village of Kopeyia what we have learned here. I participated in three dances, one of which is a social dance and occurs everywhere you go. Tonight we had a feast with the staff members and it was amazing to be able to interact with them a bit longer.
Wrapping things up was hard but it was interesting to see how much learning you can fit into a very short time. Not only the short amount of time that we have been here but today itself. I was taught how to weave kente with multple colors horizontally today whereas previously I could omly weave one string at a time.
Something I find very interesting about here is that although the children are children, they are also very muture in a few ways and given a lot of responsibility that Americans do not give their children. The atmosphere here is much more relaxed, trusting, and friendly than that in America. It will be insanely hard to adjust back to a very fast-pased and anti-social lifestyle that we go by in America.
'Till Next Time, Kopyeia
My time
at the Dagbe center has come to a close. I simply cannot believe it. In a
little over 16 days I have experienced a completely new world I was not
expecting. So here are some thoughts.
I am
usually not the kind of person that can make friends in a short period of time.
This trip has proven otherwise. The group of people I have been travelling with
are some of the nicest people to have around for an extended period of time.
There was little to no drama and everyone was so supportive of each other. The
staff at the center also proved to be an excellent group of incredibly caring
and talented people. They push you but without making you feel inadequate. Too
often back home I feel that professors make mistakes seem like the end of the
world. But here it is simply something that can easily be fixed so that you can
do your best. I think this attitude is what I will miss the most. On another
note I believe I have learned a little bit more about myself.
I have
learned that I am capable of stepping out of my comfort zone and trying new
things. I see this most in the dancing we did. I expected to come here and
really hone my drumming skills but instead found myself working on (and
excelling) at dancing than at drumming. I will definitely bust some of the
moves I have learned here on American dance floors.
So this
is goodbye to Kopyeia for now. However, I know it will not be my last.
So long
for now,
Nate
Final days before the concert
Hello again everyone. This is actually Ben, if anyone is confused, my account is one of the only ones working on this internet connection for some reason.
Today the group and a few staff members went to the market, which is a maze of stands full of linens, food, and other necessities and crafted goods. I had a good time haggling for beads and bracelets, trying to get past the "yevu price" for goods(yevu=foreigner). Afterwards, we went to the beach for a swim. The rest of the day we hung around, were made fun of by the village children in Eve, and geared up for our concert tomorrow.
It's sad to be at the end of the trip, especially now that we are comfortable with being here, and becoming close friends with many of the staff members at the center and others in the village. It will definitely be strange to adjust back to technology laden fast-paced life in America. The highlights of my experience here in Kopeyia were the ceremonies, especially the funerals we attended. As you may have read, these events are huge social gatherings, with dancing, eating, drinking, and merriment, alongside specific rites surrounding the passed persons. The most recent one we attended had two massive dance/drum circles, one for the "Kinka Association", where everyone was wearing green and playing Kinka, a traditional Eve song with a distinct bell pattern. We saw many acquaintances we had met at other funerals, and danced with them and exchanged greetings. I had the honor of dancing with the Chief.
Another thing I'll be taking away from this trip is a new understanding of music from people who practice it as a way of life. A crucial part of Eve music that has been reinvigorating to my interest in playing music is how different it is from Western music. Although many parts of pieces can be felt in two or four beat patterns, it is best to let go of these counts in your mind when performing the music. Bell patterns might have 3 or seven hits in a "measure", but I found that understanding them as continuous let me feel them more accurately. Background drums and shakers might come in twos or fours, but also have a flowing feeling, especially as lead parts often bend and weave between what we might think of as conventional timing in the music. Learning songs with my teacher Mensah has also given me a more intuitive idea of singing, especially in harmonies. When Meaghan and I asked him to instruct us on harmonies, he told us just to sing them, and practice until they naturally sounded decent.
I'm sad to be leaving Ghana and I hope I'll be back again soon, but I am definitely looking forward to eating some familiar food and sleeping on a mattress that won't be drenched in my own sweet halfway through the night.
P.S. I began posting this before the concert and we had a blackout just beforehand. So I'm writing now after a successful performance! We got applause, not laughter, from the villagers and friends attending, meaning we did a decent job dancing. I performed ten songs I learned, and Lauren recited the Eve alphabet and other phrases she learned. The staff members had some amazing dances which Joss caught on video.
Today the group and a few staff members went to the market, which is a maze of stands full of linens, food, and other necessities and crafted goods. I had a good time haggling for beads and bracelets, trying to get past the "yevu price" for goods(yevu=foreigner). Afterwards, we went to the beach for a swim. The rest of the day we hung around, were made fun of by the village children in Eve, and geared up for our concert tomorrow.
It's sad to be at the end of the trip, especially now that we are comfortable with being here, and becoming close friends with many of the staff members at the center and others in the village. It will definitely be strange to adjust back to technology laden fast-paced life in America. The highlights of my experience here in Kopeyia were the ceremonies, especially the funerals we attended. As you may have read, these events are huge social gatherings, with dancing, eating, drinking, and merriment, alongside specific rites surrounding the passed persons. The most recent one we attended had two massive dance/drum circles, one for the "Kinka Association", where everyone was wearing green and playing Kinka, a traditional Eve song with a distinct bell pattern. We saw many acquaintances we had met at other funerals, and danced with them and exchanged greetings. I had the honor of dancing with the Chief.
Another thing I'll be taking away from this trip is a new understanding of music from people who practice it as a way of life. A crucial part of Eve music that has been reinvigorating to my interest in playing music is how different it is from Western music. Although many parts of pieces can be felt in two or four beat patterns, it is best to let go of these counts in your mind when performing the music. Bell patterns might have 3 or seven hits in a "measure", but I found that understanding them as continuous let me feel them more accurately. Background drums and shakers might come in twos or fours, but also have a flowing feeling, especially as lead parts often bend and weave between what we might think of as conventional timing in the music. Learning songs with my teacher Mensah has also given me a more intuitive idea of singing, especially in harmonies. When Meaghan and I asked him to instruct us on harmonies, he told us just to sing them, and practice until they naturally sounded decent.
I'm sad to be leaving Ghana and I hope I'll be back again soon, but I am definitely looking forward to eating some familiar food and sleeping on a mattress that won't be drenched in my own sweet halfway through the night.
P.S. I began posting this before the concert and we had a blackout just beforehand. So I'm writing now after a successful performance! We got applause, not laughter, from the villagers and friends attending, meaning we did a decent job dancing. I performed ten songs I learned, and Lauren recited the Eve alphabet and other phrases she learned. The staff members had some amazing dances which Joss caught on video.
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Time and Speed
After spending enough time
in Kopyeia I have come to notice some interesting aspects about the
mundane things in my life that are much different here. I am of course
referring to the phenomenon of Ghana time
and Ghana speed.
In the U.S. we are essentially obsessed with time and how to use it effectively, as if it were some scarce resource. We build schedules around a 24 hour system and we have phrases like “to be early is on time and to be on time is to be late.” Ghana time doesn’t work that way. For instance, we were told that a funeral will be happening at 1 p.m. and that we cannot be late. We were told this at 1:18 p.m. If you are given a time here it is anywhere between the given time and 1-2 hours later it seems. Ghana time is very slack in comparison to the sometimes neurotic approach back home.
Ghana speed is the tempo at which things are done. For us, this is mainly the speed of the music we are playing and dancing. What I have noticed about this is that its nature is that of extremes. The music is either done deathly slow or blazingly fast. There does not seem to be any in between (of course like all things Ghanaian there may be a degree of subtlety I am missing.)
Ultimately, Ghana time and speed have taught me to not be obsessed with quantifiable time and that if you are going to play music – or do anything for that matter – do it to the extreme and don’t hold back.Good advice, don't you think?
Nate
In the U.S. we are essentially obsessed with time and how to use it effectively, as if it were some scarce resource. We build schedules around a 24 hour system and we have phrases like “to be early is on time and to be on time is to be late.” Ghana time doesn’t work that way. For instance, we were told that a funeral will be happening at 1 p.m. and that we cannot be late. We were told this at 1:18 p.m. If you are given a time here it is anywhere between the given time and 1-2 hours later it seems. Ghana time is very slack in comparison to the sometimes neurotic approach back home.
Ghana speed is the tempo at which things are done. For us, this is mainly the speed of the music we are playing and dancing. What I have noticed about this is that its nature is that of extremes. The music is either done deathly slow or blazingly fast. There does not seem to be any in between (of course like all things Ghanaian there may be a degree of subtlety I am missing.)
Ultimately, Ghana time and speed have taught me to not be obsessed with quantifiable time and that if you are going to play music – or do anything for that matter – do it to the extreme and don’t hold back.Good advice, don't you think?
Nate
Final Thoughts
Meaghan here....
This week has brought us many more events that I could have ever anticipated when looking at our original itinerary. On Saturday, we had planned to go to the beach, but the rain decided to pay us a very welcomed visit that morning. After the storm, the humidity lifted and we felt ready to face the world outside of the Center. For us, this meant going to our third and final funeral of our trip.
The other two funerals we had been a part of were nothing like what Joss has described or shown us in class, as the circumstances surrounding those who has passed were not ordinary. Saturday's funeral, however, was just as I imagined, only so much larger. There were four different groups playing music, two of which were very large. There were some places where you could stand in one spot, but depending on which way your back was turned could join a different group and musical style. The atmosphere was festive and everyone was using this funeral to truly celebrate a life. I have found that the funerals in Ghana are so much more cheerful and strangers like us are not a confusing occurrence, but welcomed guests.
I have found that this trip has flown by for me. I think what has impacted me more than anything on this trip is that I have seen so many small similarities between my culture and Ewe culture. Kids all act relatively the same, begging for attention and acting off around one another. Goats will always be cute. There are ways to communicate that aren't through verbal language, but with a smile that can mean so much more than an empty "hello". As everyone practices drums and bells and singing, it brings me back to the chaos of practice time at the music camp I attended as a kid. I have found that maybe the world is not all that large.
There are things that I will certainly miss when I'm back in the states that cannot be replicated: being surrounded with all of the talent and music found in Dagbe; automatically turning my head when someone yells "Yevu!" ("Foreigner!" or "White Person!") and knowing they mean me; being surrounded by a language I cannot understand, save a few words; and most of all, the friends that I have made here. There has been so much encouragement and support from the staff of Dagbe that have fostered an environment that I immediately felt comfortable in, and I cannot thank each and every member enough. It is hard to think that in just two short days I will be in a different part of the country, and then preparing for my trip home, but I have a strong feeling that I will be back.
This week has brought us many more events that I could have ever anticipated when looking at our original itinerary. On Saturday, we had planned to go to the beach, but the rain decided to pay us a very welcomed visit that morning. After the storm, the humidity lifted and we felt ready to face the world outside of the Center. For us, this meant going to our third and final funeral of our trip.
The other two funerals we had been a part of were nothing like what Joss has described or shown us in class, as the circumstances surrounding those who has passed were not ordinary. Saturday's funeral, however, was just as I imagined, only so much larger. There were four different groups playing music, two of which were very large. There were some places where you could stand in one spot, but depending on which way your back was turned could join a different group and musical style. The atmosphere was festive and everyone was using this funeral to truly celebrate a life. I have found that the funerals in Ghana are so much more cheerful and strangers like us are not a confusing occurrence, but welcomed guests.
I have found that this trip has flown by for me. I think what has impacted me more than anything on this trip is that I have seen so many small similarities between my culture and Ewe culture. Kids all act relatively the same, begging for attention and acting off around one another. Goats will always be cute. There are ways to communicate that aren't through verbal language, but with a smile that can mean so much more than an empty "hello". As everyone practices drums and bells and singing, it brings me back to the chaos of practice time at the music camp I attended as a kid. I have found that maybe the world is not all that large.
There are things that I will certainly miss when I'm back in the states that cannot be replicated: being surrounded with all of the talent and music found in Dagbe; automatically turning my head when someone yells "Yevu!" ("Foreigner!" or "White Person!") and knowing they mean me; being surrounded by a language I cannot understand, save a few words; and most of all, the friends that I have made here. There has been so much encouragement and support from the staff of Dagbe that have fostered an environment that I immediately felt comfortable in, and I cannot thank each and every member enough. It is hard to think that in just two short days I will be in a different part of the country, and then preparing for my trip home, but I have a strong feeling that I will be back.
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