Cooking, Drumming, and Church

 

Hello! My name is Spencer Rhoten; I'm a junior at St. Thomas studying Business Administration with a focus on Entrepreneurship and the Music Industry.

After expressing our love for Ghanaian dishes, we had the opportunity to make our lunch today. As we walked from the men’s hotel to our classroom, Ethan Wilson and I bumped into our usual neighbors. We shared with them our plans to make lunch and I promised to bring some for them as a thank you for their hospitality and to receive a grade on our culinary efforts.

With the guidance of Auntie Nana Ama (Executive Chef), Officer (Master Chef) Reginald, and Auntie Esther, we learned the ingredients and processes to make some of our favorite dishes here in Ghana - Red-Red, Jollof Rice, fried chicken, and fried plantains. This endeavor was filled with music, dancing, conversations, and newfound appreciation. As we worked in the hot sun, we began to realize the immense amount of work and care that Auntie Nana Ama puts into our meals here. While I have always been grateful for her and thanked her as often as possible, I was upset that I had not fully appreciated the labor of love that Auntie Nana Ama puts in for us. I hope to carry this appreciation forward for the rest of our stay here in both her work and that of others that I may be lacking in appreciation.

  

After lunch, we had a drumming class taught to us by Jacob (also our dance class instructor yesterday)! We learned the intricate rhythms associated with the dance, Kpatsa, that we mastered yesterday. While I was hopeful that my musical background prepared me well for the class, there were still some areas of rhythm I struggled to grasp! I quickly grew to love the intricacies of the rhythms we were learning and how four separate rhythmic parts melded together to make one evolving and expanding piece.

 

After freshening up, we got ready for a church service at St. Gregory the Great Chaplaincy. Compared to the Charismatic service we attended last Sunday, this service had significantly more structure. Although I was raised Lutheran, I have attended Catholic Church services with friends and to fill in for missing choir members. I noticed many similarities in the service compared to those I’ve attended in America. For a better perspective, I discussed the service with Alec Boland, who was raised Catholic.

Alec agreed the service was similar to what he was familiar with back home in the U.S. The main difference he noted was in the music. It was far more upbeat and used African drums like those we played during our drumming lesson earlier today. One topic we discussed was the non-traditional setting for the service. Rather than being located in a chapel, the service was held outside under a gazebo-type structure on a university campus. Alec found this inspiring as it solidified the idea that it does not matter where you worship, “wherever people gather God is present.”

We wrapped up our day early as we had a 6:00 am bus load the next day.

Until next time!

Spencer