Adventures Post-Dagbe

Greetings,

The rest of our trip was time in Ghana was a whirlwind and now that things have calmed down a bit and we're all comfortably back in the U.S, I'd like to catch everyone up on some of our adventures post-Dagbe.

We left the center bright and early on Sunday the 11th to head to our next destination and several hours later, we arrived at Elmina Castle. Built in 1482 and originally named St. George's Castle, Elmina Castle is the oldest European building in that part of the world. However, Elmina Castle has a far more important place in history as one of the key stops of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. There we saw the squalid slave dungeons, the opulent governor's quarters, and all of the other assorted evils of the slave trade. Despite its macabre and dark history, it was a necessary experience for anyone visiting Ghana.

Our next stop after a long day of travel was the Ko-Sa beach resort. There we were able to get some much need relaxation and to mentally prepare for the return stateside. However, we had one more adventure before we set out.

The following day we went to the Kakum national forest. Complete with columns of busy ants, nesting spiders, and a myriad of other unseen wildlife, Kakum was a beautiful green change of scenery. Its main attraction is a canopy walk and the video below will show more than I could ever write.

Sadly, all that was left after the canopy walk was to head to our hotel in Accra and prepare for our flight home. Even so, Elmina Castle and Kakum were a welcome addition to our time in Ghana and helped to give us a more full picture of what the country has to offer. They're two more reasons to go back.

Peace,
Nate

Catching up - and going home

We've been a bit off-radar, sorry!  Here is a summary of our adventures up to now:

Saturday, August 10th we woke, ate breakfast (as much as we could, at least, with our nervousness!) and gathered in the "summer hut" - the round pavilion where we were taking classes - to wait for Dagbe's director, Emmanuel, and our teachers to come and help us prepare for the last and most important element of our two weeks at Dagbe.

Some context:
Our original plan had us leaving on the morning of the 10th.  However, planning for this kind of trip happens so far in advance that it's impossible to know all what is happening around the village.  This time, our departure fell on the same day that a large funeral celebration for a very wealthy man who was born in Kopeyia, but who had lived most of his life in the city of Accra (3 hours or so away.)  Hundreds of people were coming in from all over the area to partake in the wake on Friday night and the main funeral during Saturday, and our teachers were very much part of all the community-related duties, including music and dance, that are part of such events.  Leaving on Saturday wasn't really viable all of the sudden, because the staff who were were hoping to travel with to Elmina and Accra were unable to come then.  AND - the SMC students had done so well in their learning of Atsiagbekor that we were invited to perform as one of the musical groups at the funeral - a very high honor.  "Perform" is perhaps the wrong word, as most groups serve as the foundation for community dancing and ceremony, and there is no audience or performer.  Rather, we were asked to contribute what we'd learned in honor of the deceased man and his family, and we were happy to do that.  So we decided to delay our departure by one day and play/dance.

Back to Saturday: we dressed in proper style for the Atsiagbekor repertoire, consisting of wide mid-calf pants that allowed for movement layered with a fabric piece around the waist and a couple scarves to secure and decorate it.  Additionally, charcoal was crushed and designs painted on the faces of the dancers to represent the marks and designs used in battle.

Once dressed, we were so nervous!  We'd been anticipating this moment and working very hard to polish all of what we learned, and we were well aware of the importance of the event.   When it was time, we moved to the front of the village, set up the necessary times in the area where we'd be performing, and all the sudden it was time to process in.

The "master drum" - Atsimevu - was placed upon the head of one of the dancers, and the other drums
were carried and played as we walked, sang, and danced.  Lines of people started to form in front and alongside us as people started to realize we were not locals from Kopeyia - rather, American students and their teachers.  (A personal aside here: I have never seen so many cell phones pointed at anything I've ever participated in like I did in this moment. There must have been hundreds of them pointed at us.)

When we arrived at our set location, we moved in to place and began the slow section of the dance. Not including the procession, the students danced and played for more than 30 minutes straight, and we didn't even finish our full set of repertoire, as we drew too much attention and it was decided we'd make our time more brief.

It all happened so intensely - the heat, the crowd, the importance of the event and our participation - and we were all a mix of elated, exhausted, in a bit of shock, and relieved when it was done.  We walked back to the center, took some photos, and most of the group collapsed for naps while the staff went back to the main funeral proceedings, which would last until early evening.

After we'd recovered somewhat and had lunch, we ventured out to engage with the goings-on of the funeral (dancing, watching more musicians play, etc.) until we felt ready to be done with the day.  We also had a very early morning departure coming up so after some final games of Uno with our amazing friend Jackson, we were all in bed and out cold fairly early.

We will catch you up on our final 2 days in Elmina and Accra after this!

All is calm before the storm. This morning we completely our final dress rehearsal and things are beginning to shape up for our big performance tomorrow! While things are looking good, it is important that we all are able to keep our cool and maintain a constant energy leading up to the performance. After a much needed meal of yam fries and fried chicken, a nice relaxing day of reading and cards is exactly what the doctor ordered. Looking good yet again! Later today, we will be having a meeting on how to get dressed properly for tomorrow. Then we will be having a humdinger of a party with all of the Dagbe staff members. Later tonight we were also given the option to attend a wake, prior to tomorrow’s funeral. At this point it is now time to rest up and stay sharp, for tomorrow holds an unopened jar of surprise and fun! Still looking good! 

Jump straight to ludicrous speed!!! 

Our time here at dagbe has been flying by and while time seems to have been short, the amount we as a group have accomplished is nothing short of remarkable. We didn’t do it all by ourselves of course, the dagbe cultural center’s incredible staff/ teachers are incredibly determined to use every minute we have left to polish our work. I personally, have not soaked up so much knowledge so quickly in my life. Being able to focus on a single aspect with the staff, a minute detail breakdown of ever rhythm, of every dance step has made drastic improvements to the groups performance. 

The environment we are in has only helped our learning progress, a focus on the dance, music, and culture without any distractions besides a gamble on what’s for lunch that day.  

I have been learning the lead drum to one of the more complicated pieces named Togo Atisa (pronounced a-cha). This song has many intricate rhythms that follow each other in a specific sequence, one after another. Just after 4, one hour private lessons with Wisdom, the assistant lead drummer, I have learned almost the entire thing. I could not have guessed I would have tackled so much in a short period of time. 

Since arriving at dagbe we have been more than welcomed by everyone, even at the market. We would wander around looking for fabrics or other items we might want and I would regularly hear “Yevu! Mia fue!” Which means how are you in ewe. People we so happy that I knew how to respond to them. 

Every single day I feel extremely lucky to have been a part of this trip. I feel lucky to be a part of such an open community, here at dagbe and back at SMC. I think lunch is ready, I bet it’s going to be pasta with red sauce

Answers to some questions

This post is in response to some of the questions that we've received here on the blog.

My motivation here in Ghana is time. I have been given two weeks to grab all the knowledge I can, straight from the source, before I have to leave. I have been given a once in a lifetime opportunity to actually experience a culture I had previously only interacted with indirectly. If I don't absorb all I can here and now, I wont get another chance for awhile, perhaps never. I want to fly home content and confident that I could not have spent my time here more wisely.

In regards to whether or not being in ghana makes a difference, I would definitively stand on the side that says it does. Back in the States, I didnt have the context and history behind the music. But here, I can learn about the meaning of the music, rather than just how to play it. Knowing that, I can begin to incorporate that history into my dancing, rather than just copying the moves an instructor gave me, I'm dancing and retelling history.

A moment from our drumming class - wish we could articulate how difficult this is!  Story about our coming performance soon.

My Answers to Questions Posed by Peggy Imai

Hi All,

I'm here to respond to the questions that were posted by Peggy a few days ago. I'll try to keep my answers as concise as possible. I'll answer the questions in the Oder of which they were asked. I'll start with answering the question about what motivates me here.

In general, there are multiple factors, both internal and external, that have motivate me here to learn and stay concentrated. Internally, I've always been a very self motivated person to learn things well and to perform well in my life. This is largely due to the fact that ultimately, I don't want to fail at things that I do. This doesn't mean I can't fail in the process of learning and growing as a person, it just means that in the end i want to be as successful as I can be with what I'm doing. This also doesn't mean that everything has to go or end perfectly, but the perfectionist in me works hard to see that the end produce of my work or my actions are as close to perfect as possible. Another internal motivator for me here has been the goals that I have set for myself to achieve before leaving here. Having goals, especially when it comes tp improving on something can be a key to staying motivated. For example, in my time here, I've been working everyday for for hours a day trying to learn the dance to fast Agbekor. it is a very fast dance that requires a lot of skill and stamina. So, to stay motivated to learn a dance that I do everyday I set daily goals for myself. For instance my goal for today was to get through five of the seven variations with no mistakes in the entrenches and exits, and I did and that felt great. Tomorrow, I will strive to build on that and that will help me to keep motivated to work. One final internal motivator has been my passion for this music. if you don't have passion for what you are doing, then you are less likely to even want to stay motivated to improve, so I am thankful for my passion. Now for some external motivators. Four me, external motivation usually come from other people like my peers, my teachers, and my family and friends. Here, my peers are very motivating because we are all learning, and growing, and going through this experience, together. Our teachers, both Joss and the Dagbe staff, also help to motivate me. Here, Joss is our group leader, but is very much a student along with us as well. She motivates me because I want to make her proud and I want to prove both through my actions and performance to the Dagbe staff, her original teachers, she has taught us well. Similarly, I want to prove to the Dagbe staff that their efforts to teach me have not gone to waste. Finally, my family and friends at home motivate me because they were the ones who supported my decision to come here and in some cases even made generous contributions to get me here. So, they motivate me because I want to learn things well enough to bring back and show them.

My answer to the second question is very similar to what I just said, so I'll just briefly address it. Basically, my answer is yes, I am a natural overachiever, although i prefer the term naturally self motivated. But, I suppose in a way everyone on this trip could be classified as an overachiever because we all took the opportunity to travel all the way across the world to learn what we are learning, when we could have just settled to be satisfied with just learning in the classroom back at school. Of course, we are all so blessed and fortunate to have been able to have this opportunity and have enough support to get us here, but I think to actually get yourself here goes to show at least some trait of someone who wants to achieve more out to the experience then they were getting at home. Even if we are all at least part overachievers, the Dagbe staff here are just exceptional motivators and educators, so that also plays a big role. Before we even started our lessons here, they made such a strong, natural effort to connect with us as human beings before connecting with us as teachers. For me forming these connections are particularly impactful because I feel like the more of a personal connection i share with someone, the more motivated  I am to work hard for them and strive to get to that next level to please them. The way the Dagbe staff made here feel so welcoming and homey, defiantly has had a major impact on my motivation to work harder everyday to improve my skills.

I'm actually going to skip the next two questions and move onto the question "what makes a good teacher?". Both Joss and Dagbe staff here have been nothing but good examples for what it means to be a good teacher. A good teacher for me, is someone who connects with students on a personal level to help build a trusting and healthy learning environment, but also has the ability to draw the line when it comes to keeping and gaining respect and attention from students. A good teacher is open to questions from students and the opinion of students even if they are different from their own. A good teacher doesn't use their power, knowledge, or skill as something they hold over student or as a tool to make students fell shameful if they are not yet at the level the teacher expects yet. A good teacher is someone who is willing to show students that they don't know everything and are willing to learn along with student and learn from student. Finally, a good teacher makes it apparent from the first day that they want to see hard work, growth, and success from their students both in the classroom and in life, and helps students work towards that. (A good teacher also is willing to put in the work to bring their students across the world on a trip to help them better themselves, their skills, their world knowledge, and their role as a human being. Thank you Joss!). 

The final question feels like it was asked with the intention of having a definite answer. "Does being in Ghana make a difference?" OF COURSE IT DOES! Just being able to wake up walk out the door and see a whole new and welcoming environment makes a difference. Being in Ghana adds a whole different level of depth, intensity, and pace to our learning. Being able to drum and dance with the winds of Ghana blowing in your face, there is just no way to simulate that in a classroom.Being here also gives us the unique chance and opportunity to learn about the areas, people, and culture that the music we learn comes from is a blessing and a remarkable educational opportunity. So, yes bing in Ghana makes all the difference.

I know that was a very long winded response to som of those questions, but i felt everything was very necessary to give my complete and honest opinion. As always, thank you for reading and following along with us on our journey.

Talk Soon,

Liz V.

In response to Peggy Imai:

In general I am extremely motivated when I play music. It is the one area in which I feel I always excel when I put my mind to it, as much of it comes naturally to me without much thought. I am able to grasp complicated rhythms easily, and then assist classmates in doing the same.

A good teacher does their best to understand the student’s existing knowledge and contribute more to it without reteaching what is already known. They are patient and they nurture the environment that the student requires for learning.

Teachers here are different from back home in that they are extremely well versed in the material from a young age, and therefore find it much easier than we do. This is beneficial in that they make concepts easier to grasp, but can be challenging when something feels far more complicated than they make it out to be.

The physical location of being in Ghana is not as important as the teachers who happen to be located here. However, one could argue the opposite for the reason that the teachers would not have the level of knowledge that they do had they been born elsewhere.

     What motivates me to do well is being given this opportunity and not wanting to waist it, along with my love of the music. Our teachers are really good at relaying information and making sure we understand it regardless of the language barrier. I can honestly say I've never had teachers that were so good at showing how much they want us to do well. I think that being in Ghana does make a difference in how in how see my teachers and how much I want to do well. One might think that there's more pressure to perform when in a new place and they may be right with another place but not here. The teachers here don't add any pressure to us, they make it feel as though performing is like second nature. There's a connection alot like that of a mother or father nurturing their child. 

Thanks, 

Charles 

Lauren Kelly Responding To Peggy:
In terms of motivation and what is pushing us in our classroom here in Ghana, i think there is a lot of self motivation. As an alum, I haven't interacted with the repetoire in over a year, but I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity to come on the trip. The fact that I'm not the only alum on this trip proves that this class touches upon much more than just an academic subject matter.
The motivation also really is backed by being in Ghana and what were doing having an ever present context surrounding us.
I don't think it's over achieving because what we're doing here is solidifying the correct ways of doing what we've done. Seeing Joss learn alongside us shows the lifelong learning that is to be found within this subject. It's a privledge to be here and we're very thankful and part of that is shown by really engaging with the learning here. Our teachers are unconditionally supportive and expect a lot out of us and doing right by them really moves me. This is their everyday, not a class. Thats also why being here in Ghana makes such a difference.
A good teacher can transfer the eye for opportunity and instills the gusto to take opportunitues when they come. This trip has been an amazing opportunity for authentic learning and gaining first hand experiences. We're being pushed and supported in amazing ways and we show our gratitude through working the hardest we can.

In response to Peggy!

Traveling to a different place or working in the field has always been one of the greatest motivators for me to learn, grow and experience things as fully as possible. I have come to know how I learn best over my years going through the whole system of schooling; hands on experience. Discussion of a concept can only get me so far, I need to really experience, understand first hand and put into practice what it is I am learning. The classes that were most difficult for me were the ones where there wasn’t any action, when I say action I mean putting what we are learning into practice. So classes like band, drumming, creative writing or philosophy were always my favorite. 

Here in Ghana we are learning by doing. There are no concepts to be read up on and memorize for a test, just drumming and dancing to do in preparation for a performance. Being in this place makes me feel motivated because #1 I am here, we are doing straight up experiential learning and also the passion of our teachers is contagious. They love what they do and want us to do better and be better. I feel motivated to try my hardest by challenging myself and the group because it feels like the right thing to do and our teachers have made it clear to us that we are capable. Not to mention the music is pretty badass and getting to the point where it just becomes muscle memory would be a major accomplishment and all around pretty epic. 

There is also a level of terror being thrown into the fire that is this music-it is intimidating yet I’ve found that the times I learn best are the times I am thrown into that space and have to adapt. It’s like I NEED to get this pattern or I won’t be able to progress, nor will my group mates. There’s no other option! Which is terrifying, yet there is no better way to learn for me because once I’ve gotten it I know what I am doing and most importantly I know now what not to do. 

Stepping outside my comfort zone is where I’ve learned the most about myself and the world around me-so I’m more than willing (though anxious) to take any opportunity that will allow me to breach that zone of comfort, take on a challenge and see how myself and those around me can figure it out. 

The pace quickens...

Hello readers,

As we go into the 2nd of our two weeks here at Dagbe, our studies are deepening, along with new experiences and a couple of field trips out of the center.

We are very grateful that we have the weekend to rest from our classes, which are intense in nature - 2 hours per lesson twice each weekday.  It is a good thing to rest the hands, feet, and mind, so this weekend we traveled just a few minutes over to the small town of Denu, where the local market happens every fifth day.  Students looked for fabric for any remaining pieces of clothing they wanted to have made before we leave, and I went along with our teacher's amazing wife, Gloria, to purchase the raw ingredients for an Indian dinner I'd like to cook for the cooks.  We have 3 women making us amazing food three times each day - Rose, Mamuto, and Elizabeth; they are so gracious and kind, so we'd like to offer something in return.  I love cooking Indian and the ingredients for a basic saag were easy to find here, and I think they will appreciate the taste.  At least, I hope so!

Today we left the center early to travel just a bit deeper into the remote part of the area to visit a Brekete ceremony.  Brekete is a local religion also called Kunde, and was brought with those who migrated years ago to the coastal area from the Desert region of Ghana/Togo.  We were welcomed into the area where they play music and dance, and then taken into the main room to be greeted formally.  The head priest of this group led prayers for us, asking for our health, safety, and solid learning.  It was a beautiful thing for the students to experience!

The remainder of the day is open for the students, so they are going to sit on the beach and just rest a bit (we do not swim here, as the Gulf of Guinea is known for immense currents and it's pretty rough) - but getting some ocean breeze and a bit of time to watch the fishing boats is always relaxing.

More soon!

Blisters

Greetings friends,

Of the many things Dagbe can teach, I think one of the most important is how to use your body. This first week has demonstrated that there are parts of my body that I underutilize in my day to day life, which has inevitably led to a myriad of aches and pains, bruises and blisters. Despite this, it shows me that I can be more mindful of how I walk, stand, sleep, sit, and most importantly, dance. It is a hard lesson, but a good one.

As others have mentioned, we are performing the dance Agbekor and below are some of the things I have learned to pay attention to:

1. Sit on your waist when dancing
2. Use your chest to throw your arms out
3. Don't stamp on the ground
4. Take smaller steps
5. Protect your toes
6. Keep your head up

... and many more.

I hope to incorporate these into my life back stateside and if I am lucky, help others to do so too. Ultimately, I think we all need to get back in touch with how we carry ourselves and Dagbe is the perfect place to learn that lesson.

Peace,
Nate

Hello everyone,

     So far, my time here in Ghana has been amazing and so educational. From getting here and just taking in the scenery to actually beginning the drumming and dance lessons, I have already learned so much. I don’t have many negative things to note but I have noticed some things that I need to work on with the courses. I have noticed that I have trouble with remembering which rhythm or which dance step is coming next even though I know what to do. For example, with this rhythm called Fast Agbekor, one of the drums called the kidi changes its rhythm and its hard for me too remember when the rhythm changes. We went over it about 25 times and its still hard but I guess it will come with time.
     Other than that, I’m learning that I have trouble just relaxing or finding something to do that doesn’t involve technology. Being in Baltimore (where I live), I can’t think of a time I am without technology. I even leave the TV on to go to sleep at night and listen to music when I walk around the city. Being without technology is hard but I like it. It makes me more aware of my surroundings and I feel like I’m better able to relax and just take in this beautiful place and all its wonder.

Thanks for listening,
Charles

A message from Lauren!

I know the account says, John, but this is Lauren! Signing into the blogsite threw me a curveball with today's new-fangled security options. But that's nothing too bad because our trip has had a few curveballs (nothing terrible!). We've been rewarded for the journey getting here with cool weather and for that we are all very happy. This truly is an experience and I'm incredibly grateful to be here. Our hosts and teachers have been incredibly supportive, funny, and they expect a lot out of us. That is an honor. For the most part we are polishing, adding to, and going deeper into some pieces that we've learned back at St. Mike's. Our group is also supportive, funny, and really just trying to take it all in. We've seen a soccer game, the market, a funeral, a local kinka group, and many other things that continue to make us happy. I am learning so so much and I'm trying really hard to live up to that expectation that our wonderful teachers have bestowed on us. I know this adventure is going to help me in so many ways, getting outside my comfort zone is just one of them. I missed home during the layover in Brussels but since then, I'm very much enjoying being in the here and now. I've been reminded of my family and friends in my Malarone dreams so everyone is not far away! Since the welcome ceremony I've continued to feel very connected to all the people who've brought me here to this point. I'm also going to be in such great shape when I return home :)
Much love,
Lauren

Hi everyone, John Humes here. It has been an enlightening couple of days here in Kopeyia! We have been working hard on learning the dance for slow Agbekor, which has been giving the entire group a formidable workout every morning. Having learned this dance back in the States, it has been refreshing to relearn it and fix the little mistakes we inevitably make. While the lessons are strenuous, the teachers could not be more helpful in ensuring each student fully understands the moves or drum hits, etc.

Today we visited the market for the first time. It was definitely a bit stressful being surrounded by so many locals and observing the variety of products being sold, but overall it was fantastic to finally be given a chance to really immerse ourselves outside of the Dagbe Center where we are staying. I bought several yards of various fabrics to be made into clothes later on, along with some handmade bracelets and a yo-yo to give to one of the kids at the center. During this market visit we were given a few responses that we could use if engaged by merchants. The people in the market were mostly very happy to engage with us. One woman asked my group where we were from and we told her America. She happily replied "I love your country!" which obviously made us happy. This made me appreciate how lucky we are to be treated so nicely in a foreign country, and made me even more aware of the negative way foreigners are treated in our own.

In the afternoon our group split into those who wanted to work on the dance for fast Agbekor and those who wished to drum. I was in the latter group, and was extremely excited to be working on a challenging piece. Again we learned many small tips that would improve our playing. I cannot wait to branch out and work on other pieces. As a musician the exposure to another culture's approach to the universal language has been priceless, and I eagerly await my chance to apply all of these skills to my own music!

Questions?

Today was our second full day of study, and we worked really hard - we began the fast/advanced section of Atsiagbekor, which requires immense stamina and technique from both dancers and drummers.  In between classes, we went to the market in Denu - our nearest "town" - to look for cloth and other items we need/want.  The cloth will go to make traditional clothing, so at some point a tailor will come to take measurements.  Will post pictures when we start getting the finished clothing back!

Students are waiting for the public computer to do their blogs today, so till that time, I'd love to invite anyone who is following us to ask questions - you are welcome to direct them to certain students or myself, or you can just generally ask something you're curious about and one of the group will do their best to answer.

Thanks for staying with us, we really appreciate knowing you're out there with us on our adventure!

Greetings! Aidan here with another installation of the blog for this groovin journey through Ghana!
Today we dove deep into the story of the song and dance of Agbekor also called Atsiagbekor. This was the first song all of us learned to play when we had our intro class at St. Mikes so it was very special to start our first day of lessons here in Ghana with Agbekor. My initial understanding of Agbekor was that it was merely a war dance, showing the opposing side how menacing we were. I had thought it was used in times of war to intimidate the people being battled-however today I learned that it is much different than that. 

The song and dance is really a symbol of what it is like on the battle field for those fighting. It is played for people back home to allow them to see the perspective and re-tell the story of what happens. Agbekor stands for “Clean Life” and can serve as a reminder that we live a Bit clean life outside of war. There is one lead drum that tells the dancers what to do and there are four response drums with a specific rhythm or phrase that carries a message indicating what the dance is all about. For example the drum whose pattern is Gi Toto Gi Gi translates to “Here is the battlefield” and each drum after has its own phrase. The four drums and their phrases put together create the message-(I am adding some more words here to clairfy)-“Here is the battlefield, I love it and I want to sleep here! Let us not forget about our home though, we must not sleep here- let us go back and teach those at home about the battlefield.” 
This may not seem like much in writitng but it really is incredible to me because these drums are really speaking to us. They have a language which we can translate to receive a message! Not only is it an epic rhythm but there are messages layered within. I’ve now been playing Agbekor for four years, I have played each response drum countless times and never knew the message associated with the each drum. There is so much intention put into every nuance of this music and it was amazing today to peel back a few layers of Agbekor to gain a deeper understanding of the back story and a literal translation of what we are saying as we play the drums. More to come!

Hi All,
So it's day four of our group being in Ghana and I have already experienced more new things then I have in the past year. After a very long travel it was nice to be able to arrive at the Dagbe Center and feel so welcomed. All the people here have been so kind, warm, and welcoming towards us, especially the staff here at Dagbe.
Yesterday our group got to witness two treats. The first was the local Kinka group held a practice that we were able to witness. This is special because they only practice and gather like that every so often, so it was cool that it aligned with us yesterday. The level that the drummers play at here just blows my mind, they are all so full of talent and skill. The other treat was that we got to go across the street from the Dagbe Center and watch a local soccer match for a little while. I was probably the most excited out of the group to go to this due to my soccer ties at home. It was funny watching the game here because it really exemplified how universal a game soccer is. There were subtle differences in the way they played, but one thing that was very much the same was commentators on the sidelines. Here, the main language is Ewe, nearly everyone also speaks English. So, on the sidelines, spectators would comment and shout at players in Ewe. Myself, being a passionate spectator, should let out the occasional comment and i realized that even if I can't understand the local language, I still knew what the locals were saying about the play because I was thinking similar thoughts. The soccer game was the first time I truly understood what was going on in front of me in my time here, and that was a comfort to me.
Today was our first day of lessons and it was intense. It's only midday here, so we haven't had our afternoon lesson yet, but boy did we have our morning one. Fir the morning session we danced and when I say we danced, I really mean that we danced, like for the whole two hour session. We worked on different variations of Agbekor, which is traditionally a war dance (which I know Aidan is speaking about in his post so if you want more explanation, go check that out). It is a dance we all came in knowing how to do, but were quickly taught that we really didn't know it entirely at all. I'll just leave it at that it was a very good workout and with the staffs corrections to our movements, the dance feels much stronger already and I can't wait to continue to work on it. Our afternoon session will consist of drumming, I'm preparing to have my mind blown.
Anyway, that's my update for you today about our adventures in Ghana. Thank you for reading and following along with us on our journey!

Talk Soon,
Liz V.

Words cannot begin to describe our first 24 hours in Ghana. It started off with an early wake up, egg sandwiches and instant coffee which was extreamly necessary. With full stomachs and groggy minds, we all piled up into the van and began our 4 hour journey to the village. We were welcomed with many smiles, handshakes and even a drum ensemble. Seconds after arriving in the village, it was clear that it was going to be very easy to settle in. We were given a short tour of the cultural center and were shown our rooms. The thought of laying in a bed and falling asleep seemed too good but today, there was no rest for the weary. We were given a delicious lunch of spaghetti with red sauce and fresh pineapple. Yum!!
 Shortly after lunch we began libations which is a showing of respect and welcoming for past ancestors of the village. After a few words and a small shot of palm-based gin, the libations were over and we were told that we would be leaving imidietly for a funeral ceremony down the road. We were given tradition dress wear and pulled into a truck and headed out. We arrived and were thrown right into a very important aspect of this culture. We walked right into a massive crowd of people, tents, drum groups, blaring speakers and food vendors. We were even lucky enough to apply our dance moves that we have learned from years past! The day ended with a great meal of fried chicken, white rice and red sauce. We also hung out a lot “the spot” where we shared pear soda and Ghanaian beer. That nights rest would be one of the best I’ve had in a long time!

Day 1 of our time in Kopeyia: jumping right into the flow at a beautiful funeral ceremony.

And images from our welcoming ceremony (Libation Pouring), where we requested permission of the ancestors to come and learn, and to be able to keep what we learned well.

Hello from Ghana!  We had an adventurous journey out - the flight from EWR was perfect and on time, arriving in Brussels a few moments early. We went to our next gate... and discovered we would have an 11 hour layover (original 3 hours plus an additional 7 hour delay).  This group, though, is comprised of excellent travel companions.  We made a group "nest" in the downstairs section of the airport terminal, which for the entire time was almost entirely empty, and were able to take turns napping and finding food - very thankful that Brussels airline offered 28 Euros in food vouchers per person, so we ate well.

After a slightly elongated delay even past that, on board we went.  The 6 hour flight to Ghana was easy and I was only disappointed the students weren't able to look down on the Sahara Desert in the daytime, as I have been able to so often.  But we landed well, got through customs just fine, and our host and main teacher Emmanuel Agbeli took us to our hotel for the night, to rest up from our 40 hour journey and so we could travel to Kopeyia (the village where we will be studying for 2 weeks) safely.

We are now at the Dagbe Cultural Institute and Arts Center in Kopeyia, on the very southwestern corner of Ghana. After a quick breakfast in Accra we journeyed here and settled in with the amazing staff here, who helped the students orient to their rooms and then gave a quick overview of the main facility before lunch.   After our lunch, we were formally welcomed with a ceremony of Pouring Libations to the Dagbe Ancestors - namely Godwin Agbeli and other of his family who have passed on.  Our hosts asked the Ancestors for our health, success, and the ability to learn well, followed by a quick session of music and dance to Agbadza, the local music used for formal occasions such as these.

Normally after such a remarkable entry, we'd rest.  But today there was a very big funeral celebration just down the road, so we were dressed in traditional cloth wraps and taken to this amazing community celebration of life.  Funerals in Ghana are not the sad, quiet family affairs we often see in the U.S.  Rather, they are community-wide, open to all ceremonies that include drumming, dancing, song, and remembrances of the deceased.  If you are an Ewe-speaking person living in the Volta Region, you attend many funerals through the year, and in return you know that people will attend yours when it is time.  There really isn't any good way to share the vibrance and beauty of these occasions - you'll have to come to Ghana to see.  Hopefully a picture or two (shared either here or tomorrow when I have better internet access) will lend some context, though.  The group was welcomed warmly and we spent a few hours dancing with many people, and then came back to the center for dinner and then some cards and relaxation afterwards.

I don't think most of us have gotten a full night's sleep in the past 3 days so we are all heading to a deep, well-deserved sleep.  Tomorrow we will mostly relax (it being Sunday), take a walking tour of the village, and settle a bit more so that on Monday we can begin our music/dance program in earnest.

More to come soon!  Thank you for reading, and feel free to comment/ask questions/say hello!

Josselyne

In Brussels

Hello World,

I'm a little late on posting my first update but my name is Nate Goyette and I am an SMC in Ghana alum. I last took this trip 4 years ago and already it is an entirely new experience. And by that, I mean we have a longer layover in Brussels than expected! Despite this minor set back, I can already feel myself settling into these next few weeks. Sure it's tiring, but I find it strangely refreshing and I can't wait to keep this adventure moving.

More to come,
Nate

Intro to Students: Andrew

Hey guys! My name's Andrew Krebsbach, and I'm a 2nd semester senior at St. Michael's College, majoring in Music. It's because of Joss and the West African Drumming program that I'm a music major, so I'm very excited to see the culture that changed the course of my academic career firsthand and experience it with the amazing friends I've made over these 2 years.

I'm especially looking forward to trying new food! I love to try things that aren't eaten in America, but are commonplace in other countries. I'm also looking forward to meeting the people of Kopeyia, the village where we will be staying. I hope to make some new friends!

Andrew

Greetings my good people! This be post number one from Aidan on this fine platform of communication!

I am an alumni of St. Mikes from the class of 2018 and I currently work in the field of wilderness therapy as a guide at True North Wilderness Program in Waitsfield Vermont. Similar to Lauren's experience, post grad life has been quite wild and the education has in fact rapidly increased for me! I have traveled the most this past year than any other year of this life-starting in Alaska last Summer to Nepal and India in the winter time with a short stint in Switzerland somewhere in there and now I pack my bag once again for the most anticipated trip of them all-Ghana!

I accidentally took the drumming course my first year at St. Mikes thinking it was a band class-oh how wrong I was. Probably the best "mistake" I ever made, I fell in love with everything we did and it soon proved to be the most valuable and important experiences for me in my time at St. Mikes. It allowed a release of stress, provided a meditative environment, allowed me to understand a completely different style of learning (while twisting my brain in ways I still cannot use any words to describe) and led me into a community (rather-a family) of the weirdest and grooviest people on campus.

I had just missed the previous Ghana trip-as it happened the summer before my first year-and I had heard about how outrageously awesome it was from some of the students who had the privilege of going. Naturally I was curious and began to ask Joss about when the next trip was. Without ever getting a straight answer I just decided to started saving money to fund it whenever it was going to happen-this was in 2015. I had no clue if it ever was going to happen, but as fate has it we are headed off tomorrow, 4 years later! That clueless freshmen inside of me is jumping out of his pants giddy with excitement while my current self is feeling cool as a cucumber and ready to drink up the experience of a lifetime.

Big thanks to Joss for sharing her unusual and epic passion with a bunch of rag tag college kids along with the help of all the good people at St. Mikes namely Peggy Imai for all the support and encouragement for making this unique experience a reality!

Hi,
My name is John Humes. I am a rising senior at St. Mike's double majoring in music and business. Ever since my sophomore year after I transferred to St. Mike's from Merrimack College, I have been completely blown away by the amount of opportunities for musicians on campus. I am involved with Turtle Underground, the on-campus music community that grew out of the famous St. Mike's North Campus venue of the same name, and have played lead guitar in St. Mole and Spunhouse. I first joined Akoma in my second semester sophomore year, jumping in with no background experience besides my love of drumming (albeit rock drumming). After a bit of a rough start I quickly became familiar with many of the rhythms, and now feel as if I have come a very long way. The rhythms and music styles we have learned have been quite informative in writing my own music. I could not be more excited for this opportunity to learn more about these styles from their sources, and also dive into the diverse aspects of Ghanaian culture. While this will not be my first foray into world travel (I went to El Salvador on a school trip my junior year of high school), I am delighted to expand my personal experience of different cultures and immerse myself in these indigenous styles of music. Until next time!

Take Five America, We are Headed to Ghana!

Howdy!

My name is John Sweeney. I am a rising senior studying music and I am headed to Ghana to spend three weeks learning more about music. I could not be more excited to experience Ghana. I am drummer in two extremely loud bands on campus, No Dolphins and Sead. I have been playing for five years now and my music taste has been growing exponentially. Ever since I was a freshman I made sure to have African drumming in my schedule,; it was one of the main reasons I decided to attend SMC.  I have grown so much as a musician and a person from this form of music. I have spent many restless nights dwelling on the upcoming trip, and trying to quantify how much fun the trip will be. 

I feel extremely lucky to have such an opportunity with such an amazing group of people whom I consider to be family.  I would like to thank Joss Price for going above and beyond setting this trip up for us Ne'er-do-wells, I am forever grateful.

As of right now I am all set to go, all packed up and eager to commute 15+ hours. It'll all be worth it. I hope you come along for the ride and keep up with what the whole group is doing, Maybe I'll get a laugh or to out of you, who knows. Maybe you'll hear the drums echoing in the night.

Catch you on the "B" side,

John Sweeney

Hello Everybody,


     This is the day before we leave to go on our trip to Accra Ghana. I'm very excited about this trip, it's all I've been talking about this whole summer. Not only have I never been outside of the country but the African Drumming class with Joss has become a big part of my life since I joined my sophmore year. This class has given me experiences and taught me to think in ways I would have never considered before. From the music to the language to the traditions, this class has only enriched me and influenced my overall life experience. This trip to ghana will only enrich my experience with the culture further as I learn from the people who live in the culture everyday.

     I would like to take the time to thank all of the people that made this trip possible from my teacher, Joss' drive to get us this far and help us with everything we needed to make the trip go smoothly to the school administration that allowed us to take this trip in the first place and to all the people that donated money to help fund this trip. This trip would not be possible without this collaborative effort from all of the parties involved and I promise these efforts will not go to waist.

Thanks,
Charles

Intro to the Students: Lauren

Hey all,
I'm Lauren! I am an alum of Saint Michael's college, class of 2018, and for the last year I've been the technical services staff/cataloger at the Stowe Free Library in Stowe, Vermont. It has been a crazy year for me since graduating but I could not pass up the opportunity to be on this trip with my fellow rad SMC travelers. I am taking this summer off from pursuing my Masters in Library and Information Sciences online through Syracuse University, which I started last summer. When I get back from Ghana I will only have two semesters left. Although, education never really stops!
I am super excited to be travelling to Ghana and immersing myself in the culture there. I was part of the dance ensemble during my time at St. Mike's and the group taught me to really think about learning. How do I learn to move my body? How do I listen to music and for the rhythm? It's all about connection. I'm excited to connect in this new place. I cannot believe tomorrow we set off on this adventure! I look forward to learning a whole lot and I could not be happier to be a part of this.
TTYL

Hi Everyone,

My name is Liz Vallatini and I am one of the students who will be taking part in the Akoma group trip to Ghana. Today marks about two and a half days before we leave for the trip and I couldn't be more excited! I've been a part of African Drumming for three semesters now at Saint Michael's College and have really fallen in love with the type of music we play and the culture it represents. This trip is going to not only give me the chance to learn more music, but also will be a huge step into the culture that I have only learned about thus far. I am hoping that by going on this trip I will learn more not only about the music and culture, but also about myself and my connection to somewhere in the world that is very far from my home.

One of the main purposes of this trip is the drumming, which I am excited for, but I think I am most exited about learning about the culture. I want to learn everything I can while I'm there and I want to interact with as many people as possible too because I think those types of connections are important.

I've never written in a blog or been a par of one, and I don't know if this will be a great representation of the blogger in me because with limited access to the internet, I'm not sure how frequent my posts will be. However, I'm hoping that we as a group and I as an individual can blog well enough to try to give you at home a front row seat to even a fraction of our adventure because I'm sure its going to be something quite special.

Thanks for reading and I hope to be updating you from Ghana the next time I write!

Talk Soon,
Liz Vallatini

Hello folks,

Today marks just a week and a day before the St. Michael's in Ghana group begins our journey to Ghana, West Africa, traveling from EWR (Newark, NJ) to ACC (Kotoko International Airport, Accra.)  My name is Josselyne Price; the students and alumni who are on this trip have all been a part of my advanced performance ensemble, called Akoma.  We are all traveling to the southeastern corner of Ghana in order to study the drumming, dance and song traditions of the Ewe people, specifically with the Agbeli family, who have been teaching this music for generations now.  Along with the music, students will have the chance to learn batiking, kente weaving, cooking, or any number of local traditions they may be interested in.  We'll visit markets, attend ceremonies, and find time to connect with the amazing people at the Dagbe Cultural Institute and Arts Center, where I first began my own journey in Ghana 25 years ago.

Personally, I'm excited to share this wonderful and inspiring place with these particular people, so they have a chance to meet my teachers, learn the culture and traditions deeply, and get to see why music and dance are such an important part of Ghanaian culture and life.  But I also know the heart connections they will make, and the friends and memories they will make that will stay with them for life.

Internet is always a bit unpredictable during travel - more so in Ghana, but we'll be doing our best to post photos and updates as often as possible.   (The background photo for this blog, by the way, as well as the posted photo feature many of the Dagbe Cultural Institute teachers and staff, who will be taking care of us as we study in the Volta Region.)  Stay tuned as we near our July 25th departure!

Josselyne