Bywel’s is a local hotspot with live music. Music here was a fusion between Ghanaian traditional and jazz music providing for a really interesting mix. The Ghanaians seem to devote a lot of time to their music as well. One group here practices for eight hours a day. I guess it isn’t too much of a surprise that they are so talented. Their natural rhythm is also impressive. Even children seem to be able play music with relative ease. It was a bittersweet night as my roommate left. It is weird how quickly one becomes friends in part because of the shear number of new experiences that forge people together. We can relate to the others ignorance! Someone once told me that you like those who are like yourself. Rarely do I make an effort to know people if I don’t like them. Therefore finding common ground is essential if I am to really find out about this culture.
During a walk down the beach in Cape Coast we found a group of three Ghanaians children playing soccer. We played with them for more then two hours. The three of our group vs. the three Ghanaians. Even though they were half our size and half our age they still managed to show us a thing or two. (That’s about as much as I can say without further damage to my ego) It was a lot of fun and we were all good friends by the end of it. This was one of the best parts of my time so far. These kids wanted nothing more than to play soccer and make friends with new people. Soccer was something that we shared in common, and was a base through which we got to know each other.
Something else that I saw through this is how much these kids could do with so little. The pure joy that kids get out of playing soccer was great to see. Even children back home still get a thrill out of playing sports. But they become bored with it. They are so overloaded with video games, movies, and other technology. They have become so accustom to it that they feel like they deserve it. For that matter we all believe we deserve more in life, no matter what we already have. This can have merit, as we push towards a better future. But at some point there must be a balance between bettering one’s self and satisfaction in what we have. I cannot believe that these two things are incompatible. I think in our society satisfaction is viewed as weakness.
The food: There are a large variety of traditional foods in Ghana. Most often used are yams, cassava, and plantains. Yams are often used in place of potatoes. Cassava is like a small yam, like a small yam, taste is similar to turnip. Plantains are like a hybrid between bananas and sweet potato. One can purchase them both raw and ripe. The raw plantains are used for plantain chips (like potato chips), fufu, and banku (described later). The ripe plantains are fried and have a more banana like taste.
mashing Cassava for Fufu
We went to a cooking class in Cape Coast. A friendly Ghanaian lady and her brother ran the workshop. It was another view of their society, plus we got to eat it. It shed a bit of light on why restaurants take up to two hours to bring dinner as well.
Fufu is a mixture of plantain and cassava. Both the plantain and the cassava are pummeled seperately with a big stick until they form a paste. They are then mixed together to become Fufu. It does not have much of a taste, which is why it is often eaten with soup and fish. It reminds me of raw dough. Banku is similar though with a slightly different taste and less firm. You can't chew Banku, something that takes a bit of getting used to. Red Red is basically Black Eyed Peas, spices, garlic, and onions. It's my favorite Ghanaian dish. Light soup has vegatables, chicken, palm oil. Groundnut soup is the same as Light soup but with peanut butter (groundnut paste) added. Two favorite ingredients here are garlic and ginger. They lack salt and it is something I find myself craving.
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