Between Christmas and New Year, my placement at Coastal TV slowed down a lot – as did my life in Cape Coast. The transmitter at the main studio was still broken and the season’s festivities meant that for much of the week, no one was at the office. I spent a lot of time reading, the highlight of which was The Code of the Woosters by P.G Wodehouse, a supposed literature classic, but one that I’d never heard of before. I found the book on the shelf of my previous house in Accra and borrowed it on the basis of the cover, which I love. Also on the basis of the cover, I’ve decided to keep it – so if anyone would like to read it when I return home, just ask.
On New Year's Eve, things picked up a bit. I spent the night at a popular beach resort called Oasis and many of my friends were there. Live reggae played all evening and at midnight, everyone moved onto the beach for a close range fireworks show. Within fifteen minutes of either end of 12 o’ clock – this is Ghana, remember – the show went off and hundreds of people watched and celebrated, locals and revelers alike.
With the start of the year – last week – the transmitter problem at Coastal TV was suddenly solved. After moving the bulk of the station’s equipment from the main studio to a tiny studio in the city, somebody made the executive decision to move it all back, and use the city transmitter at the main studio. With this manoeuvre, the station came back to life.
My internship so far was alongside a German volunteer named Uta. Most of our time had been going into trying to master Adobe Premier and editing some footage into something we might get broadcast. I put many hours into studying tutorials online and through a lot of trial and error, we were able to make some progress.
With the main studio up and running again, live recordings recommenced. The station’s two flagship shows are KASA, a political chat show and Sound Check, a music program, both in the afternoon. In the last week I have sat in on lots of these recordings, which are always interesting, especially since the two shows are so very different to each other.
KASA is long (usually an hour and a half) and the panellists mostly speak in the local language, Fante. The first time I watched the program, Coastal TV broadcast The Land Before Dinosaurs on either side of it and the transition between programs was brutal: mid-scene and mid-dialogue.
When I mention KASA to the kids in my household, they express a good amount of disgust and one can see why. Sound Check, meanwhile, is a different story. The show is a collection of popular music videos in Ghana and the 1/2 hour program is hosted by a smooth talking hip young guy. The music videos are always popular and when the show manages to get sponsorship, it is very heavy on advertising. I find the selection of music videos a little difficult to enjoy, but the host is fun to watch. On air, his personality is kind of half-western, half-Ghanaian hybrid and he never stops for a breath of air.
Coastal TV threw up some surprises last week too. Around Christmas time, some weeks back, a Ghanaian woman I work with approached me to see if I would do a voice-over for an ad for a pizza restaurant opening up in Cape Coast. The station is ever fighting to fill its advertising slots and she thought a foreigner’s English would go down well. Since I’m not one to turn down what could potentially be my big break, I happily agreed. I rehearsed that night and came in ready the next day. Unsurprisingly, it was delayed and then continuously so. In this interim period, my co-worker came back to me and upped the ante, saying she wanted me to appear in the video too. A pizza ad! She even laid out the premise: We would stand there and eat some pizza, explaining how good it tasted. I told how much I loved the idea and she said she would get back to me on it.
Last Wednesday, she found me and said we could finally do the voice-over (halfway there, oh well). I entered a small room and sat down at a huge microphone. On cue, I repeated the 30-second script three times over. Afterwards, my request for feedback was rejected with a shrug of the shoulders and they sent me on my way.
And then on Thursday, I attended my first Ghanaian funeral. One of my co-workers lost his mother and in Ghana, funerals are big affairs and if you have even a tiny connection to the person, you are expected to attend. This was a Muslim funeral and all the staff at Coastal TV attended. We started with a visit to the woman’s grave, which was located in the middle of small forest and simply a big mound of dirt. Next, we visited the woman’s local area and met two groups of elders. Each time, the host of Sound Check spoke on behalf of Coastal TV, but his TV voice was gone and replaced by a newfound elegance. On behalf of the station, he offered the son (our co-worker) 100 Ghana Cedis and pointed to three boxes of juice that we had brought with us to the funeral. The funeral was incredibly civil and the mood wasn’t one of upset, but of purpose and deliberation. Most of it took place in Fante, meaning aspects were probably lost on me.
Friday was Uta’s last day and this spelled the end of my video editing career at Coastal TV. The laptop and video camera we’d been working on belonged to her and so we had to finish our work up then. All day, we rushed to finish a short documentary on an Orphanage Christmas dinner but at 3pm – when I had to leave for a weekend away, quite guiltily I should say – I left Uta with the task of putting together the final pieces of our project. We were in need of some assistance from somebody, a daunting challenge, and in the end, she waited for a long time and found somebody and now the piece is completed. Whether the station broadcasts it depends on its need at any given time. We’ll see.
Busia, the Stilt Village and some breaking news
I’ve touched on Busia before so I won’t go too much into it. A group of about five of us, all Cape Coast volunteers, arrived there at around 6pm on Friday and we stayed in a guesthouse that also doubles up as a library.
On Saturday, together with an Australian named Toby and an Austrian named Mario, I set out for Abokwa island. I sacrificed coolness for cheapness, hiring a boogie board, while the other two went with surfboards. The trip went very slowly. For over an hour, I kicked and paddled and the faraway island didn’t really get any bigger. Toby and Mario were very patient with me and for much of the time simply lay flat on their sea-aerodynamic surfboards, every now and then calling out to see that I was okay. After what felt like an eternity, my wild kicking and waving paid off and we reached the island.
Well, we got close enough. The rumour of sea urchins at Abokwa was true and a hundred times worse than I’d imagined. They are black spiky beasts that stick to rocks and the ocean floor. Only a few weeks before, another volunteer had to be rushed to hospital after stepping on one. The shore on this side of the island was covered in them and we decided that it would be best to turn back. Toby and Mario each found a safe looking rock to touch a foot to (allowing them to say that they “technically” reached the island) but I refused even this, on the basis that sea urchins are truly horrible creatures and I wouldn’t even want to give one the satisfaction that it stood a chance at me, they are that ugly.
The trip back was easier. Toby and Mario devised a trick whereby they connected my boogie board to the back of their surf boards, pulling me along. After a while, we developed a rotation system, which was fairer for everybody. In no time, we were back relaxing at Busia.
That night, we visited a night spot called the African Rainbow and saw a show by a singer from New Orleans. He voice was amazing and his stories and random talk between songs even more so. As close as I’ll ever get to seeing Tom Waits live. Here is a clip – only a snippet, but uploading video isn’t a cheap pastime, not over here:
On Sunday, we moved on to another beach spot called Meimei. It was on the way to the Nzuzelo Stilt Village. I’ll sum this spot up in five few words (as I’m running of steam, as you are, no doubt): exclusive, pristine, calm, inconvenient, expensive.
That night, we stayed in a town called Axim, on the road between Busia and Beyin. It is the site of a big fort and a few guesthouses, but otherwise, there isn’t really much going for it (not for the tourist, anyway). We walked for a long while to get to the one restaurant that we had recommended to us, but the bar man said that they had just had a big party and – “Alright, so, here’s the thing” – they were out of food. We ate some kebabs on the street and egg in bread (a staple here) and retreated back to our accommodation, where we watched “Who Wants to be Rich” until we all fell asleep.
The next day – Today – we woke up bright and early to visit Nzuzelo, the famous village on the stilts. We found our way to Beyin and from there, organised the trip through the relevant authority. The only way to get to the village itself is by dug-out canoe along the Amanzule River. This boat ride was a lot of fun. Our two guides, Frederick and Tommy, paddled and steered us for the one hour trip to the village, singing along the way, which started the journey out on a very wholesome note.
On arriving at the village, we were met by a different mood. The place was visibly quite poor and the majority of villagers we passed were either bored or frustrated at the sight of foreigners. The tourism surrounding Nzuzelo is very organised – or official – and the proceeds are said to go into promoting local sustainability. At request, we made a donation to the school – and this required us to enter our details into a records book. The book told of a handful of visitors daily, each providing on average between $2 and $10 for the school. My guess is that for the 450 people who live in the village, the good that this does is rather minute by the times it trickles down to the individual and the feeling of foreigners treading upon what is, by necessity, a very close-knit and intimate way of life, makes for a rather sour trade off.
After an afternoon on tro-tros, we made it back to Cape Coast. Unshaven (in writing, I can use that phrase to total effect, even if it in real life it carries virtually no weight), tired and in need of a shower, I walked in the door and my new roommate Charlie had for me some developments.
Firstly, my mail had arrived.
Secondly, my workplace burned down yesterday.
The main studio in Cape Coast, the sight of my placement, caught fire and nobody could stop it before the place was destroyed. Nobody was injured and the cause has been attributed to an electrical fault.
Some articles on the event:
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=200958
http://news.peacefmonline.com/news/201101/124072.php
Thirdly, Charlie saw my pizza ad on Saturday morning while watching TV. His feedback: “very weird!”
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