July 19

                Today we moved locations. As enjoyable and useful as our time on campus has been, we are beginning to get restless and we are excited for the change of scenery. Michael to told us to pack as light as possible and to store all unused items in the hostel. This caused an large stir at the front desk though, because apparently they are not supposed to store item and someone had been doing it under the table for our program the last 2 times. Even with only 2 bags each, the van was a tight squeeze. But we packed everything in and were off to Kokrobite.

                Kokrobite is a beach resort town, so everything here revolves around the tourist industry. The resort we are staying at is a villa, with a restaurant that serves western food and a clean beach, which is rare for Ghana. Beaches here are treated more for function than beauty.Fisherman slums and garbage dumps are always located there, and they are the most sensible place for naturel latrines, so many of the beaches, especially near Accra, are unappealing to say the least. But as the tourist industry becomes a more prominent factor in the economy, Ghana is beginning to view its coastline as a commodity, and more resorts like this one are starting to open up.As a result of the tourism, Kokrobite is a central hub for musicians and performers across the country. Today I met a man named Kingdom who moved here from Jamestown just to perform.

                After a nice swim, I wandered down the beach like I would do on a beach back home. No one bothered me, but someone later told me about some pretty frightening things that have happened on that beach, so I doubt I will stray away from the resort alone again. Tourism bring money and money also attracts the dirty side of society, and the beach is the most logical place for shady deals.

                In the afternoon we went for a dance and drumming workshop with a local troop. Kingdom describes them as a kind of drumming fraternity, and they rehearse in a large performance venue and bar owned by a German woman. I’ve noticed a few German establishments around here, and I wonder what the connection is, as Germany never had colonial interests here. Perhaps they are all connected to the entrepreneurial pursuits of this one woman. I’d be interested to know what her lifestyle is like here and the lifestyle of her little girl, and what adjustments she had to make moving here from Germany. I keep trying to imagine myself living here, and I really can’t. I can sense the cleanliness issue and the strange food starting to catch up to me, and I must confess how overjoyed I was at the prospect of a salad at lunch today.

                The leader of the drumming group is a formidable man named Oko. He gave us a drumming lesson which was almost identical to the ones I teach to grade 6. Then a younger man named Adi taught us a dance called panlogo, which is similar to Fume fume.

                After a swim and an impromptu dance on the beach I was ready for a shower. I discovered that showers in this place are done with buckets of well water. It was actually quite pleasant and warmer than the showers in Legon. I bet we waste a lot less this way than we do in plumbing showers too.

                In the evening, there was a performance on the resort stage, which I’m sure has ruined me for street performers forever. The first thing I noticed was that the group was larger that the others we’ve seen with more drums and more broadway like costumes. The outfits and the drums are in very good condition, so I guess the tourism is profitable. They presented a highly polished act with excellent percussion and vocals. The first half was traditional dances which as always were quite athletic and energetic. Then came the dance that we saw depicted in the national museum, whose name I can’t remember. The dancers wear bright and ridiculous costumes and the women pad their bums with pillows to make them comically large. The whole dance is a mime of the man chasing the woman. It struck me how much like Charlie Chaplin or the Three Stooges it was. Slapstic humor  performed in mime, just like the silver screen. I bet this dance was strongly influenced by the blackface mime thath became so popular in Africa, or perhaps by the silver screen comedians themselves.

                The act finished with a high flying set including amazing acrobatics, juggling and magic tricks that outshone any street performance that I have ever seen. One trick after another with no banter or pandering in between, and all done to the sound of the drums. In fact, the drums never stopped from start to finish.