My time in Dzelukope came to a close this morning. It was a wonderful, crazy and challenging time. My time was been full of classes, research and cultural experiences. The research has taken some eventful turns and it’s been intensely challenging. The challenge has been found in an element of the research I never expected to be dealing with, one that’s emotional for me, as I suspect it would be for many. Not to mention the fact that this shift in my research has forced me to recontextualize my research, define new terms, and question my goals (in addition to my sanity). This is vague, and I know it is. I’m hesitant at this point to lay it all out here, but I’m never shy to talk about it.
My cultural experiences have been varied. Most involve dancing, as it seems to be not just the Ghanaian pass time, but the Ghanaian way of life. While I find this enjoyable, let’s just say I’ve had one too many conversations that go like this:
Dance partner: “You know in Ghana we dance to the rhythm.”
Me: “You know they do that everywhere. I’m trying. It’s not something I was born able to do.”
Most of my dance partners nod, and try to teach me how to dance. It’s fun, and I have to think I’ve improved a little, but I will never be mistaken for a Ghanaian when I dance.
Oddly enough I am mistaken for just about everyone else, all the time. I am constantly called by the name of one of the girls in our program, although we look nothing alike. I have several times been called ‘chinese’ or ‘korean’. And my favourite was when I was asked if I was African American.
“Am I African American?!” I asked.
“Yes. Are you?” he said.
“Only half.” I replied. “My father is African.”
He smiled. “Oh, oh! Well WELCOME HOME then!” I told him it was good to be back and he agreed that it was good for me to be back in this place. I never corrected him, but I told the story to some of my Ghanaian friends later, and we all laughed so hard we could hardly breathe.
As I leave Dzelukope I’m sad to be leaving behind new friends. We’ve spent more than two weeks here, and the town has grown on me a lot. That being said I’m excited for what the next 21 days of my program hold. We’ll be travelling to at least 5 different cities and doing ‘research on the fly’. The different cities are across Ghana, so I’ll have the opportunity to see much more of the country than just the coastal region I’ve seen thus far. That part is exciting. There’s an element of intimidation when I consider what needs to happen between now and then.
Here are a few pictures from my time in Dzelukope/Keta. Also be sure to check out the Paramount Tugbi post and The Fort post for updated pictures.
My cultural experiences have been varied. Most involve dancing, as it seems to be not just the Ghanaian pass time, but the Ghanaian way of life. While I find this enjoyable, let’s just say I’ve had one too many conversations that go like this:
Dance partner: “You know in Ghana we dance to the rhythm.”
Me: “You know they do that everywhere. I’m trying. It’s not something I was born able to do.”
Most of my dance partners nod, and try to teach me how to dance. It’s fun, and I have to think I’ve improved a little, but I will never be mistaken for a Ghanaian when I dance.
Oddly enough I am mistaken for just about everyone else, all the time. I am constantly called by the name of one of the girls in our program, although we look nothing alike. I have several times been called ‘chinese’ or ‘korean’. And my favourite was when I was asked if I was African American.
“Am I African American?!” I asked.
“Yes. Are you?” he said.
“Only half.” I replied. “My father is African.”
He smiled. “Oh, oh! Well WELCOME HOME then!” I told him it was good to be back and he agreed that it was good for me to be back in this place. I never corrected him, but I told the story to some of my Ghanaian friends later, and we all laughed so hard we could hardly breathe.
As I leave Dzelukope I’m sad to be leaving behind new friends. We’ve spent more than two weeks here, and the town has grown on me a lot. That being said I’m excited for what the next 21 days of my program hold. We’ll be travelling to at least 5 different cities and doing ‘research on the fly’. The different cities are across Ghana, so I’ll have the opportunity to see much more of the country than just the coastal region I’ve seen thus far. That part is exciting. There’s an element of intimidation when I consider what needs to happen between now and then.
Here are a few pictures from my time in Dzelukope/Keta. Also be sure to check out the Paramount Tugbi post and The Fort post for updated pictures.
Laundry day near Emancipation beach
walking along keta beach
hanging out with highschool students in keta
2 comments:
Your father will absolutely LOVE it when he finds out he's African American. Since you got your sense of rhythm from him I think it's hysterical that you claim he's African. On another note - we have tried phoning, unsuccessfully, several times. We will keep trying. Love you, girl.
yeah surely your father will like it but i want to do comment on your pictures you uploaded it is very touchy and show the class of that village ...
Post a Comment