My first polo match

Hi everyone,

I apologize for taking so long to update here. I am trying to remember everything that has happened lately. This past weekend I went to Accra to see my first polo match. Ghana competed against Nigeria. I have to admit, I had no idea what to expect from polo and I did not know any of the rules, other than they had horses and sticks that they used to hit a ball with. It was an interesting game though (maybe mostly because I really like horses) and I was taking pictures for a new friend with his really awesome camera. For those of you who know me, know I love cameras and taking pictures. So I had a really good time. The game wasn't that difficult to understand either, it seems the rules are pretty simple all in all. After the game I even got to ride a horse for a short time, something I haven't had the opportunity to do in a long time and really enjoy. The horse was really skittish and a stable boy was walking alongside me in the beginning. Someone just walked by as we turned a corner and my horse got spooked and began running. I love running on horses so I thought, "Yay, fun!" The stableboy however, did not think it was so amusing. I imagine he was instructed to take good care of me, and when my horse took off maybe he thought I would get hurt. He proceeded to chase me and the horse yelling, "No, Pull back! Oh no!". I finally pulled back and stopped, but my moment of fun came to an end ;). When the horse tried to buck me a bit, I gave up for the night in trying to ride. It was pretty obvious the horse did not want me on his back.

The rest of my time in Accra was nice, nothing too eventful but met some new people and had some good conversations. I always really enjoy talking of course. I still remember being paid off when I was a little girl if I could be quiet for a few minutes...

Now, I am back in Cape Coast and this week will be pretty busy, mostly with me trying to finish arranging the study abroad program between Cape Coast University and another university in the US. One of my volunteers is leaving this weekend, and I will be sorry to see her leave. She is from Scotland and it has been really nice having her around here, maybe I will go visit her in Scotland someday (when my life as a non-profit worker has ended!)

Last week Thursday Lawrence and I joined two of our volunteers and the NGO they are placed with- Sympathy International- to take part in an HIV education in a rural village. It was very interesting to get to see the work being done out there although occasionally I was a bit stunned to hear some of the questions asked. I guess I take this type of education for granted and assume that most people are aware of the dangers, but that just isn't the case. There was a case with one peer educator (one of the people trained to go out and do education) informed a woman that birth control would indeed protect her from sexually transmitted diseases. Of course this is not true, but even the educator thought it to be the case, so you can see where this would be an enormous problem. My volunteers also had a drumming and dancing workshop last Thursday evening, which is always great fun to watch. I have not yet taken part in the dancing, but maybe someday soon I will have to.

I also managed to burn out another water heater! I am not sure what the problem is, I am following the instructions on the box but I have a feeling it has something to do with the current... we'll see if I can figure out a solution before I burn up a third one. Cold showers for now.

I hope everyone is doing well, love to all.