Per usual at our Friday afternoon staff meeting, someone brought up to topic of ‘weekend plans’. Since life here in rural Ethiopia often takes on a slower pace, we are always looking for some excitement. This Friday, one of our teammates mentioned that one of the guards had mentioned that on Saturday there was going to be a game at the community field where people rode horses and hit balls with sticks. While this description sounded similar to polo, the details were sketchy to say the least. But nonetheless, come Saturday morning most of the compound was climbing in the camp boat and heading to the game. We docked our boat at a resort in the ‘neighborhood’, and began our search for the polo match. No more than 30 seconds after stepping onto the beach, we see a speed boat booking it across the lake and heading our general direction. Emotions of jealousy and wonder surged through our veins. You see, a few weeks ago we attempted tube behind our boat, and by boat I mean a 21-foot piece of steel. Lets just say that from the beach it was hard to tell if the person on the tube was actually moving :) Anyways, when the speedboat docked our entire entourage was waiting to greet them! We quickly learned that they were some of the athletes playing in the polo match. Apparently a polo club from Addis (made up of 12 members) was having a farewell tournament for one of their members, an Italian ambassador, who was being relocated. The group was very friendly and excited to have spectators, so we were invited to eat lunch with them and enjoy the day’s festivities as ‘guests of honor’. After further inquiries, we came to find out that the leader of the group, Omar, is actually the owner of the resort and that he is the second wealthiest man in Ethiopia! The whole day was so surreal. We left the compound to watch ‘a game where people rode horses and hit balls with sticks’ and we ended up dining with and cheering for some of the wealthiest men in Ethiopia. One of my favorite moments was when our teammate, Brian Hall, was asked to present the trophy to the winners. He awarded the trophy wearing an old t-shirt, swim trunks and no shoes!!! So funny.
