You are Welcome!

The full entourage awaited us at the Tamale airport: the Headmaster of TISSEC and his administrative staff, and the full Sister Cities of Tamale committee. Their hospitality flavored every aspect of our visit. When we remarked on the fruit juice at dinner, we found it more frequently at meals. When we asked if we could find toilet paper at the market, a 12 pack appeared on our doorstep four hours later. At every step of our visit this generous group fed us, arranged for our transportation, accompanied us to the market, and saw to our every need and request. It took us a day or two to realize the softly accented “You are welcome” that ended most of our conversations was not an off-handed response to “thank you,” but a genuine statement of hospitality “You are welcome, here” and we were.