Cape Coast I

Last Thursday I found a great adviser for my research project on the development of baseball in Ghana. We are both really excited about it because it is so recent and not many people have looked into it. I was interested in this topic because there is a lot of US aid money and private business interest in starting basball here and I would like to research the motives and effects. Anyway he does the economics of sports.
Talking about sports...I wanted to do cross country and soccer here. BUT I have to run at 4:30 in the morning, then practice at 6am and again in the afternoon. Its a little rediculous especially because I feel like I am back in PE being frustrated with girls for playing like girls, at least with soccer anyway. But I am extremely jealous of those that are here for the year and playing soccer because the University team gets to play in the brand new stadium they are building for the 2008 African Cup (for which they postponed second semseter a month btw) for the West African Regionals. But there is the possibility of playing in Uganda this semseter I think.
Anyway, this past weekend was the Cape Coast festival. I have never been in such constant chaos. Music, drumming, dancing, food, people, kids, costumes, chiefs being carried, even a ritual bull sacrifice. It rained pretty much the whole weekend too which I really liked. It took a while for the parade to get going because there was a football match Ghana v Peru U17. I ended up watching it on a tiny tv behind the counter of a pharmacy shop until the parade started and we joined in and danced down the street for a few hours until I had to eat something. At night we went to a beach party and it was so surreal to be staring out into the ocean from West Africa with this giant slave castle behind me in the rain. I'll write more about the festival later. My classes are still changing times and places and its the third week, haha.