Been rather busy lately so been rubbish at keeping in touch...and it will only get worse I'm afraid once I embark on the next Adventure and head Eastward bound towards the Serengeti next week! Bring on the Big 5!

Week 5 in Ghana ended with a bang...Gus and I decided to wander into town to have a Friday afternoon stroll around the market and perhaps pick up some stuff for the weekend along the way...No sooner had we stopped at the first stall than the heaven's decided to open up and it POURED! Constant rumblings of thunder and the brightest lightening flashes I have ever witnessed! To make matters worse, I had made the fatal error of wearing lights beige shorts and a baby pink T-shirt / Fuschia bra combo...needless to say in a matter of seconds the market had transformed from innocent African trading place to Victoria Secret runway and I was the opening act. As if I needed more attention to stand out - I was the only white woman within a 10 mile radius and now my clothes had become transperent and there I was, soaking wet running through the African markets desperately trying to preserve my dignity all the while focusing on not loosing my flip flops in the mud...was definetely an experience I do not wish to repeat. I could hear the women's mutterings of disapproval in conjunction with the men's hissing and beckoning for me to seek shelter in their stalls. I probably got more propasals in those few frantic minutes than I have in the 5 weeks I've been here. Oh well..you know how I roll...tis the Lopez way ;)

As you know (and you better know) I turned the ripe old age of 23 earlier this week and so Sunday the MAD House occupants headed off to a local bar to have "my final beer as a 22 year old"..... 4 hours later we were all more than "sufficiently tipsy" and spent the rest of the evening having a self-defence lesson by our nightwatchmen on how to 'ward off enemies' with sticks. Much anticipated video footage coming shortly to a facebook near you...

My Birthday was lovely...got a gorgeous hand-carved African mask from Tim and Meg and got a HUGE surprise of a home-baked cake (coupled with a bucket of water thrown on me - A Ghanian tradition apperently) Also recieved gorgeous traditional beads from a vivacious African lady whose shop we are constantly visiting. Spent the afternoon with the kids playing around which I enjoyed soooo much - I really am going to miss those kids...theres about 5 that I would adopt in a heartbeat! And went for a quiet beer in the evening as our stomach's would not have been able to handle anything stronger.

Today 6 of us piled into a Land Rover bright and early and made the bumpy journey to Shia - the villiage where the MAD Foundation started out in 1998. Had a tour of a Cocoa Planatation, visited MAD previous projects and got to meet the Villiage Chief! Never thought I would be formally introduced to an African Chief - thats definetly something off the bucket list :)

My Ghana experience is getting better by the day and this volunteer programme has most definetely given me a greater appreciation of how lucky we are back home!

GO MAD!

Missing you muchly, big hug and kisses x x x