music and football

Day 115.

Last weekend, Carmen played in three shows at the Music Department...I went all three nights it was that good. Line up: Yerekorossi (from Burkina Faso), Pure Water, Obrubini, and Big Shot. Each night was a little bit different and so much fun. On Friday night, Prophet Fish, Big Shot’s lead singer, invited me on stage to sing “Tunamensa” with them! As I had gone to a few of Carm’s rehearsals I knew the song, and as my only part was singing the word “Tunamensa” is was not so difficult.

Sunday: Ghana v. Mali FIFA World Cup Qualifier in Kumasi…this time everything went according to plan. The area surrounding the stadium was packed with football fans and hawkers, wearing and selling anything and everything with a Ghanaian flag on it: key chains, necklaces, noisemakers, hats, visors, scarves, flags, jerseys . I wore red, yellow, and green beads in my hair and waved a small Ghanaian flag, I thought that would be enough spirit, nope.

We arrived in Kumasi five hours before the game was to start, so we did some exploring. Elle, Karen and I wandered around what seemed to be a friendly area. The further we got from the stadium, the quieter it was, which I enjoyed but soon enough we were back near all of the excitement. Somewhere along the way we decided to make up fake names and where we were from. This is something I would do when I was little and I don’t think I ever pulled it off, but here it was a cinch and so much fun. Most of the time I decided to be German so I could say “Ich mag schwerkroft”, which means “I like gravity”.

The game was much more exciting than the last as Mali is a far better team than Sudan. Last time we had VIP tickets so we were in a chill section. This time we had middle range tickets so the crowd was more rambunctious and noisy -constantly yelling at the field in Twi and Pidgin. They scored. Half time. We scored. They scored. We scored! Satisfied with a 2-2 finish, we left the stadium for the long ride home.

The road from Accra to Kumasi is one of the most dangerous in Ghana as the majority of it is not paved and covered with potholes. The bus driver, who said a prayer before we left, drove like a maniac and didn’t seem to adjust his driving to the conditions, other than swerving determinedly around the potholes and the vehicles without slowing down a bit. Miraculously, we made it back to Accra safely.

Lectures are finished. I’ve taken my dance and Twi exams. Four more finals and I will be officially done with my undergraduate education.

I’m so excited to start traveling.