Rain

It seems that the rainy season has started.  Since we arrived in this country in June, it has been dry, dry, dry.  The area where we are posted is especially arid, and keeping a thick layer of dust from accumulating inside the house has been a continual challenge.

Now, though, the short rainy season is here.  (There are two--one in November and December, the other from March through May).  We've had occasional rain during the last week or so, but two days ago there was a real thunder-boomer Florida-summer-like rain in the afternoon, and our shoes were caked with mud after walking across campus.

That's because all of the paths are dirt, the campus quad is dirt, and the side roads are dirt.  Thus, the dust during the rest of the year.

So, last night it started to rain in earnest--hard, steady, and continuous.  I do believe it rained all night, and it is still raining this morning.  But, strangely, no water is coming from the tap in our house.  This does happen frequently, and then usually the school handyman adjusts valves and such and it comes back on.  But I am told that water supply interruptions happen more often in the rainy season because pipes break.  Poor infrastructure. 

(Yes, yes, I know I should be grateful that I have water piped to my house at all while serving here, and I am.  Many of our friends have to fetch water from elsewhere.  The Peace Corps is kind to older volunteers.)

(And, I am especially grateful that our little house has a good roof.  We have not seen any leaks.)

But we are prepared.  We have five 5-gallon buckets of water stored in our pantry, and another couple of gallons of already-boiled drinking  water, as well.  We were told from the beginning of our service that we would need to be patient and flexible.  It's the patient part that gives me trouble.