It was another week of ups and downs. It started with a couple of amazing experiences. I had my first private lesson on drums with Antoinette on Monday morning. We worked on a djembe rhythm for about an hour. It's so cool that I get to study with a female drumming master. There are very few females in that world, and she is phenomenal. Everyone who plays drums in this area (and maybe in Ghana?) knows her - she's got a great reputation for being a drum master and I think for being a good human being.
In the afternoon, I went to my first dance class on campus. That was intimidating but extremely cool! I love it. It was me and a bunch of undergrads. I asked to stand in the back, because, well, you know, I already stand out in several ways...I’m so glad I’m doing that, even though it's outside my comfort zone. These things are what I came here to learn! These are incredible opportunities!
Tuesday was the first class with my undergraduate students. What can I say? Undergrads are the same everywhere. They have to be motivated and reminded to read and prepare for class. We had a decent class but I anticipate that they will be more prepared next week. That’s the only thing I have on Tuesdays so the rest of the day I read some research and prepped for class with my grad students tomorrow. Also, one of the lower points is that the water was off starting sometime Tuesday afternoon.
Regardless of no water, I got to go down to the clubhouse on campus and have a drink with Eric who is the head of department and John-Doe. John-Doe is going out of town for a month starting tomorrow which makes me nervous for it. But Eric is back in town and from a trip he was on for about 10 days. I’m glad he is back because he can help me solve some problems that come along. The two of them are so wonderful. We had a great time hanging out and talking about the first couple of weeks. I also imparted to Eric that the water is out and it makes me a little nervous. He is really great at trying to help me with these situations, even though there's really nothing he can do about the water being off across campus. It’s just a frustrating thing for everyone. But I can't say enough about how great these two guys have been in helping me navigate my way around the first few weeks.
Wednesday morning the water was still off so no shower for me! The work-around I have found, because John-Doe told me to do this, is to fill up my used water bottles with tap water so that when this happens I will have water to work with. So I was able to use some water for getting ready for school. However, it’s anxiety inducing not knowing how long this will go on and how much water I will need. Flushing the toilet is a whole other issue I had to learn about. I will just leave that there.
Wednesdays are my longest days. It started with my grad class at 8 AM. And again it seems it takes students a while to get going because these two were also not as prepared for class like I wanted them to. Again I anticipate that they will prepare better next week. Then I put on my student hat and went to my African popular music course. I love listening to Professor Addum-Attah talk about the history of African popular music. It’s so great to be a student again! From there I entered my teacher role again and basically led a band lab for the music majors who were in the band. It was a really fun hour! I’m working with them on some basics for how to run a rehearsal so we worked on things like conducting, good posture, tuning, and basic teaching strategies. I think we all had a great time and I can’t wait for that hour next week! To round out the day, we had a seminar for all music instructors and grad students. It feels like graduate seminar class all over again and I love it. We had a guest researcher come in today who is visiting from Germany. He shared with us some of his research that I don’t really understand but it was fascinating to listen and hear about something totally different from what I know.
Wednesday night the water was still off and I told Eric I was going to stay at Sasakawa. I just needed a shower and some peace of mind! He was completely supportive of this because he understands my newness to this whole situation even though it’s a pretty common thing in Ghana. Every encounter that I have like this is growing my comfort zone and making me more and more thankful for the things that we take so much for granted in the United States. It was so nice to have not just water, but hot water for a relaxing shower! I slept well that night. :)
Thursday was a chill day. I got to spend all morning reading up on the body of research I’ve decided to focus on while I’m here. I’m so excited that I have a research topic and interesting ideas flowing! In the afternoon I was able to go to my first African drumming ensemble class on campus. The teacher is a master drummer named Nana Koto so it’s cool to study with yet another master drummer! The co-teacher is another female. Her name is Rosie and she is so nice and fun (she's the one in the background in the pic below)! I think I’m going to enjoy working with the two of them this semester. In the evening I went to my first class outside of the music building. I’m taking a course in the African Studies Department called the cultural impact of tourism. It’s me and about 150 or so first year students, and the professor is a TA in African Studies who was also very nice. He asked me if I would speak to the class sometime about my experiences and I said absolutely! This is going to be another very interesting class!
On Fridays I don’t have any classes to teach, although I am teaching conducting lessons to an enthusiastic undergrad who enjoyed my lab band class on Wednesday. So he came and we worked a bit on conducting; we will keep doing that throughout the semester I think. I love this kid! He’s really enthusiastic and has a really fun personality. And I love that he sought me out to learn more!
And that's a wrap for week 2 of teaching and student-ing!
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