Recent University of Dayton graduate and standout soccer player Lauren MacCormick is currently doing volunteer medical work in Ghana, Africa. She is writing updates to UD head coach Mike Tucker about her experiences in Africa. Below is her final entry.

MacCormick graduated in December with a pre-med degree — which she amazingly completed in 3 1/2 years, each semester on the dean’s list.

Not only did she excel in the classroom, but the All-Atlantic 10 first-team selection, senior captain and leading goal-scorer, helped the Flyers to one of their best seasons ever at UD,  as Dayton posted an unbeaten regular season record, claimed the Atlantic 10 Regular Season and Tournament Championships, and advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.

 

Hey Tucker!
 
I have officially made it back to the States alive and well, and hopefully parasite-free (it might take a few months to be sure of that, those things take a little while to develop symptoms). I've been home for two days, and it's almost been as strange to be back as it was to arrive in Ghana.  Once again, it's just two different worlds. Also, I must have acclimated to the weather a little bit while I was over there because our house is freezing and I keep sneaking around and turning off our AC.  My mom hasn't been too pleased about that but she's still happy to have me home :)
 
I spent the last week there working in the clinic and trying to take in as much as I could. The doctor always leads the patients in song and prayer every morning before he sees anyone, and he included a special blessing for me on my last day of work. I continued playing soccer with the same group of guys, and on Tuesday we all arrived an hour early to cut the grass (or weeds and bushes).  They brought an extra machete for me, but it took awhile to get used to it and I think my main contribution for the day was entertainment. Wednesday was my last day playing with them, and after practice I pulled two of the boys aside. Theo always wore a pair of sandals to play in, and I decided to give him my cleats that I received my sophomore year at Dayton.  Kofi, the other boy, always wore the same orange shirt to practice, and I decided to give him one of the soccer balls I brought with me from Dayton.  They were both very appreciative, and it was the first time either of them had had those possessions. Also, I left before the package of UD gear from Coach Tucker arrived, but I let the post office know to forward it to another volunteer that I met who will distribute it to kids in one of the villages. She'll send me the pictures once she gets home so I'll be sure to forward those. 
 
I spent the last weekend in Ghana travelling to Accra. We spent most of the night along the ocean where locals played music and sang. The next day, we visited the artists' market and spent a few hours bargaining and looking through all the amazing art work. We spent a half hour on a tro-tro to reach Kokrobite Beach and spent the night in a wooden loft under mosquito nets.  The next day we relaxed on the beach and eventually headed home. I spent Sunday night and Monday with my host family and gave the other soccer ball I brought to my four younger host brothers. They were really excited to own their first ball as well, and the next thing I knew we were sticking tree limbs in the ground to serve as goal posts out in the front yard and played about four hours of soccer. I took my last bucket shower before saying goodbye to the family and heading to the airport. 
 
Going on this trip has been an invaluable experience for me. There are a lot of aspects of it that I'm still trying to figure out and put into context, and it's one of those things I'll spend some time thinking about over the years. The one thing for sure that I know about Africa..is that I'll be going back.
 
Mac