Smoking 'erbs from a Bong
20th June 2006
While I was in the Philippines, I made a big deal about not
smoking. I was offered so many cigarettes by generous
locals. I declined every one. I even gave talks to my
students at Pulao Elementary
School about the dangers of smoking. I'm looking at you,
Lester Delfin...
And yet here I am, in Ghana, giving it a go.
Well, that's not quite true.
Let me back up for just a bit.
 Shesha
What I technically did was Shesha. To smoke shesha,
you need an extravagant looking device that
looks like a bong. Tobacco is placed in a cup which is then place
at the top of the bong. Hot coals are placed on top of the cup to
heat the tobacco. You then suck on a
pipe which brings the tobacco smoke down through the bong, through
some water and finally into your mouth.
Ciaran - one of the
volunteers from Guest House Two - has a Kuwaiti parent and a Pakistani
parent. She says that her family shares some shesha
together every evening. Much like the English might get together
for a cup of tea or New Zealanders having a beer.
Matty
- another volunteer from Guest House Two - spent a lot of his youth
growing up in Egypt. He would regularly meet up with his school
buddies for some shesha.
What's it Like? And
would I do it again?
I've smoked about five cigarettes in my life. All of them
in high school when I was trying to be cool. I don't think
anyone's first cigarette is very pleasant. It's a hard thing to do
properly and you end up coughing and spluttering on the harsh cigarette
smoke.
Shesha is not like that. The smoke
is very smooth and your cough reflex doesn't kick in. The tobacco
is usually flavored with something like apple or mint.
Matty told me that shesha is not nearly
as addictive as tobacco, but is probably more dangerous to your health.
I enjoyed hanging out with some volunteer
buddies and having a new experience. And while the taste was
pleasant, I wouldn't go out of my way to try it again.
Questions? Comments? Try contacting
me.
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(c)
2005 and 2006 Malcolm Trevena.
All the stuff on this site is written by me, Malcolm Trevena. Feel free to
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want. Just make sure you sight me as a reference.
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