Welcome to Tamale

My first view of Tamale from the plane produced a sight that was exactly what had I pictured when imagining Africa. The soil was bright red against lush green shrubs and trees, and every so often a small clearing revealed a community of 8 to 10 small mud huts with grass roofs. Razak, my project coordinator met me at the airport and drove me to TICCS Guesthouse, my new home here in Tamale. The grounds were exactly as they had appeared on the internet site and my room exceeded my expectations. I have 2 small beds /hoping to find a roomate in the future/ a desk, a large cupboard for my clothes and a tiny little bathroom with a shower. There is a garden in the back which is very colourful and frequented by tiny lizards that I see everywhere now.

I have had a few chances to tour the city and everytime I do I can hardly believe I'm actually here. The streets are lined with shanty's and booths where people are selling everything from sandals to phone cards to cloth and meat. The streets are all very busy and people always seem to be going somewhere. Women carry huge loads on their heads and sling their babies behind them in a swath of cloth. The little guys don't seem to minds this at all and they look so cute just hanging out back there.

I am still getting used to walking around because I stick out a lot even why I try to inconspicuously explore. I have only seen about a handful of foreigners and this is usually at Swad, one of the more popular expat restaurants. When I do go exploring though it is difficult to take everything in...there is so much going on all the time and I still can't get used to all the goats, roosters and cows that roam freely amongst all the action. The adults generally let me go about my business without much thought but the little kids always smile and yell hello from the side of the road. There are children at TICCS during the day too who play there while their mom's clean. They are so cute and thoroughly enjoyed flipping through my book with me and pointng out all the pictures.

This week I am attending a course on Ghanaian Culture at the Tamale Institute of Cross Cultural Studies. There are people from all over the world attending the course and staying at TICCS for the week. I'm looking forward to it!