Well, helloooooooo all. Hope you are all well. Had a great weekend in Lake Bosumtwi. On Friday we left Kumasi to go to the Lake, we were told that it would take one hour, max. Three hours later we finally arrived! It is a huge lake that was formed 1.5million years ago by a meteor, and there are loads of broken trees in the middle of it because the whole area was forested before the meteor hit. The locals go fishing on it, but they don't use canoes because they believe that that will alienate the Twi spirit that lives in the lake. Instead, they use planks of wood, called 'padua' and drop nets to catch the fish, they sit on the padua and paddle with their hands using small pieces of wood. Each fisherman had his own area of the lake that it set by a pole of wood sticking out of the water. So in the shallower areas of the lake there are loads of pices of wood sticking out. When we were there we (me, Michelle from New Zealand, Jess from Canada and Cecilia from Sweden) stayed in a hotel that was right beside the lake. It was a really nice hotel and was around 20pounds a night for a double room including breakfast. The rooms were huge, and there was airconditioning, it was so exciting to actually be in a cold room! It did however turn out to be the case that me and Michelle were sharing a room with a mouse who we called George. On Friday night we kept hearing the rustling noise, and assumed it was the AC blowing the plastic bags. When Michelle got up to investigate a mouse ran out of one of the bags and through to the areas beside the bathroom! That room was kept shut until we really needed to go to the bathroom. Then on Saturday there was HUGE spider. As I went to get wine out of the fridge it was just there, staring at me. I garbbed the wine and ran very fast. On Saturday afternoon we had drum lessons, so much fun. I may just need to get myself an African drum.....These Rastafarians decided to teach us, it was all very bizarre. Then as the lesson finished this other Rasta guy came up to us and told us to come back later and ask for him, and he would give us another lesson, and to ask for him; he said that all people even (and I quote)' the babies at the breast know who he is'. We didn't go back. Then, in the evening after we had tea, one of the guys who worked at the hotel took us to try some of the local gin made from coconut trees. It tasted very very strong and left a burning feeling in my chest for a good ten minutes after drinking it. The 'bar' that he took us to was essentially a small hut with a few bottles of alcohol and one table. A but different to the pubs from back home! But it was all in the name of good fun. On the way back to the hotel the Rasta guy who told us to come back appeared to ask why we hadn't been back. He was naked, so we made our excuses and ran very fast while trying not to laugh. On Sunday morning we went out on the paduas, good fun! Had to sit on it and paddle with my hands. I didn't fall iff, which I was very surprised at! Oh, by the way for all those who have been reading up on lake borne diseases (Catriona) someone from Kumasi University tests the water every week for disease, and it is clear. Got back to Kumasi yesterday, so back to school today. There was a bit of a drama this afternoon, Ceclia hasn't felt right the last couple of days, and it turns out she has malaria. Apparently it is +1, which is the mildest form so it will clear up in a few days. The scary thing is that she only has on mosquito bite! Oh well, better go. I am enjoying all the updates, the Neighbours ones are good, so keep the recording of the crash! Linda - is that book by Sophie Kinsella? The Undomestic one? I just read it, very good, easy reading!