A week of new events!

Wow! I cannnot believe that (a) it's been almost a week since I last posted a blog and (b) it's officially been 4 weeks since I landed my two bare feet in Ghana! Crazy if you ask me! Some weeks are slower than others but this week has been action packed so I'll see what I can do to remember an entire week ago!

As you know, I was hoping to get set up with a few drum lessons over the course of my stay. On Monday, a man named Eric came to the compound with a huge bobobo drum and said, "Cessy, I am drumming your instructor. Let's us start soon now." As you can tell, the pronouciation of my name was skewed, as was his English, but nonetheless I had my first drumming lesson. Those of you who have heard any music come from my hands or mouth can attest to the fact that I'd be better off sticking to athletics. I'd have to say that playing the bobobo drum is something that I may have a shot at if all my other possible careers fail. The drum is about 3 feet tall and quite skinny with an amazing mural carved into it. Eric is a good instructor and patient with me which has helped a lot considering we barely communicate. He began by teaching me the first rhythm. Although the rhythm seems simple enough with only four different sounds to it, creating the four different sounds is difficult. The first sound is created when the drummer hits the flesh of their hand against the side of the drum, allowing the fingers to "flop" onto the skin of the drum. Makes a "popping" noise. The second sound requires the drummer to lift the drum with his/her ankles/knees while striking with a cupped hand (as if you'd catch water in your hand). The third and fourth sounds are created with stiff fingers hitting on the first 1/3rd of the drum. Yes, this basic rhythm is what took me well over an hour to grasp. Whenever I would mess up, Eric would say "no," and take the drum to show me again and then pass it back. I had a two hour lesson only using the words, "no," and "listen." Ghanian music usually has two other instruments in it, neither of which I know the Ewe names for. One resembles a cow bell and the other is a head-sized maracca (sp!?). All three instruments are played to a different rhythm but together they sound amazing. Monday night's lesson was about learning the basics of each instrument. I'll have to admit, however, that Monday's lesson was not the best sounding drumming that the village of Woe had heard. Somewhat embarassed, I decided to practice a bit over the week (to everyone else's disagreement) and by Thursday, I definitely felt pumped for the second lesson. Eric came on time, which is very odd for a Ghanian, and we started where we left off. Within a few minutes I had the rhythms of Monday's lesson down and was moving on to learning how to transition to other rhythms. When the master drummer wants to change the sound, he/she must play a certain beat four times for all the others to be aware that the sound is about to change. I was focusing so hard that I hadn't realized what was going on around me. All the compound children had come running over when they heard the drumming and even Wonder (age 3) began dancing around. Every few minutes more and more kids would trickle in until we had about 15 kids of all different ages dancing to the beat of one bobobo drum, one marraca and one cow bell. I will try to take some video on my digital camera of the kids dancing as you have never quite seen anything so amazing.

Four of the volunteers left for home today, as their placements have come to an end. Our group has sadly been cut from 10 to 6 but at the end of April comes an enormous group! Apparently another 15-20 people are coming! It will be just as we were getting used to having the luxury of not waiting for a shower or having to fight for elbow room at the table! I wish all the volunteers a very safe journey and best of luck jumping back into the busy life of work and school!

I have spent the past two weeks in close contact with with staff at CCS, the nurses/doctors at Keta Government Hospital and as well, the Director of Public Health in hopes to branch out of the hospital work and get more involved with the community. I submitted a proposal to the Director this afternoon requesting partnership and support as I open a blood pressure clinic in Woe. My monotonous work at the hospital, which has consisted of taking vitals 3x a day, has shown me that an incredible number of people have very high blood pressure (e.g. 190/120) and are completly unaware. The health system here is not focused at all on prevention so the majority of people have never even heard of the term. Obviously, there is a definite need for education and awareness in the community and since I currently do very little at the hospital I thought it wouldn't hurt to entrepreneur a clinic of my own. I have not much to lose and everything to gain at this point. Many nursing students from home would giggle right now not at the idea of the clinic but at the fact that I will be doing community nursing. I've always been the nursing student dedicated to tertiary nursing (fixing the problems as they arrive at the hospital) rather than the "primary prevention" kind-of girl but hey, look how things change! I will hopefully have an answer from the Director by early next week so that the clinic can begin on Monday April 10th. Between now and then I have a number of things to do such as find an English and Ewe speaking person to help me translate a phamphlet, take a tro-tro to Denu to find a photocopier to make copies and meet with a physician who has agreed to see the patients with incredibly high blood pressures. I'll let you all know how it goes this upcoming week! *fingers crossed!*

In other news, I have sadly acquired my first gigga. Yes, the girl who was incredibly anal about preventing them has found herself with a momma gigga and a sac full of eggs. I know exactly when I would have gotten it as well! During the drum lesson on Monday, Eric said it would be easier to lift the drum with bare feet so I did. Two hours with your feet in the sand will grant you a gigga in your left baby toe! (Don't worry, by Thursday I convinced him to let me do it with my shoes on so hopefully this will be the first AND last gigga!) Sarah and I did our microsurgery as sterile as possible and not to gross you all out, but it was a huge gigga! Definitely was worth a photo which some of you may be graced with when I return!

To go along with the bugs in my feet are the two very unidentifiable but odd looking spider bites on my left leg. They are roughly "twoonie" sized, red and hard to the touch. Ester and Giffah are quite certain that I've been bit by a common spider. As well, I have been hosting a family of bed bugs which have taken a kind meal out of my tummy at night. Alas, as much as I've tried to avoid all the bugs in Africa, I have not prevailed. It's okay - I still believe it's been worth the trip! ;)

A bit more random news before I go. My Ewe is becoming better and better by the week! I can now have "child level" conversations including my name, where I have just come from, where I am going, what I am in Ghana for and bidding people a great day and to see them again tomorrow. The other day on the tro-tro I was asked incessantly about my husband back home so I told the man that my husband's name was Abraham, that he was a direct descendant from a ninja clan and that I had two sons named Lincoln and George W. Bush aged 9 and 7 (meaning I would have had to have been 12 when I gave birth to my first child!! HAHA) I've decided that the more persistant the person is, the more elaborate the story will become!

Well, alas, the time has come for me to say "miadogo" (see you again soon). I will be trecking back to the CCS house in a terrential downpour singing early 90's remix hits with Sarah that we heard on the tro-tro here (e.g. Twist and Shout remix with regae!!!!) Thank you for the blog postings! Great to hear from y'all!