THE RAINY SEASON

















This morning I woke up to heavy rains and deep rumbles of thunder. The thunder actually rumbled like the sound of jets or heavy planes that you hear when near the airport. The downpour lasted for a couple of hours. Being that a taxi is my only means of getting to work, I was not able to go in at my usual time. Most people in Tamale do not go out in the rain.

I woke up early anyway and got ready, and I enjoyed eating breakfast over the sound of the rain. I did some reading and heard more stories of the guests that have stayed in the house of Mama Souka and Mr. Fresh. After the rain started to get heavy again, I decided to go back and lay down. After a short nap, one I was eased into by the sound of the downpour, I heard Lieta’s voice in the house. She is our neighbor and the secretary at Justice FM. She is taking the day off today as she prepares for a short journey to visit her brother’s house. I got up and got myself ready, and we walked together to the road.

A taxi brought me all the way to work, which is unusual, as I always have to transfer at the main taxi station. When I came in I had to speak with Wisdom about getting a ticket to Kumasi for Thursday morning. My plan is to get there for the evening and stay with Jayme. Matthew might also come by as he is not too far away. On Friday, I plan to meet Pierette in Cape Coast, though we have not spoken since she was in Kenya a couple of days ago.

One of the main things that we will do in Cape Coast is visit the slave castles. I had the chance to visit a similar place in Senegal called Goree Island (the point of no return). That was a life changing experience with a story that I have only told a handful of people. It’s too much to explain here, but I have the sense of something connected to that time will be happening this weekend.




















Today, I will go with Ramadan to start the first story that I have worked on since my arrival. School is going to be out at the end of this week, and we are going to use this chance to explore the future prospects that female students face in Tamale. What opportunities are available to them? What challenges do they face? We are going to speak with some young women I met in the market that would like to do more schooling, a girl in my area that is waiting on exam results to find out if she can continue (she would also like to go to boarding school so that her time spent doing chores can be used for studying). We will also be interviewing a local teacher, and a few young students that Ramadan knows. This will be a good chance to see what our chemistry is in producing content.

Oh, also going to get a haircut today, I’ll go check the American ladies tonight, and be on the bus – God willing – at 6AM tomorrow morning on my way to Kumasi.