Day 17: Dance--Asenemaso

the town of Asenemaso officially welcomed us with a welcoming ceremony. Everyone was traditionally dressed. Chief Nanna hosted it and we received a huge honor as well as a beautiful gift for each of us. The entire town was there to officially welcome us. We were also lucky enough to witness traditional African dance and music. It surprised us that the American hip-hip dancing is very similar to Ghanaian traditional dance. The dancers were kids, probably close to teenage years. Even though the dance is rather obviously sexual, this type of dancing has been apart of their culture for generations. Here, it's culture and it's been around for generations, but it's exploited in America. This launched us into a discussion on whether this type of dance supports and indirectly encourages viewing women as a sexual object. But the main point to remember is that the boys were also being just as sexual in their dancing. With hip-hop and rap, women are the only people dancing sexual (with hardly any clothes on). The men act as pimps and the women act as if they are trying to please him. Sadly, the team also recalled how the ceremony strangely reminded them of high school dances. I remember my proms where I danced ridiculously, but I definitely remember those who took dancing very seriously. We danced twice in the ceremony and it was very carefree, loose, and fun.

That is what most of Ghanaian culture is, carefree. There's not much worry here and the people are so happy. I wish life everywhere was like that. If we stopped putting so much pressure on ourselves, I think we'd like life a lot more. We need to give up our burdens and worries to God. God will take care of us if we follow His will. In America, we become so independent of others that we become completely detached from God. That's my biggest struggle: becoming dependent on God. Over the years, I've built myself up to be independent of those I could rely on, like my friends. But now, I have to give that up. That's the hardest thing for me to give up, not wealth or materialism. But His strength is my strength and I know I can overcome anything.