Rainy Season

Rainy season... a time of glory and woe. A time to readjust your living habits by simple things like carrying an umbrella everywhere you go. If you want to stay dry (drier anyway) you must do this even if the sun is shining and there is hardly a cloud in the sky. The rainy season is a time to revel in the fact that you don't have to water the garden. You are in awe at the tiny little plant wonders that are springing up all around you. The rainy season is a time to become more aware of your surrounding. For example, you must look to the skies to see how fast you should walk from your house to lunch without being caught in a torrential downpour. If the sky has a layer of light clouds, no worries, you can take your time. If it dark with a growing layer of thick storm clouds, you better walk straight and steady. If, by chance, you look to the sky even later than that and you see a thick wall of rain heading your way RUN FOR IT!!!

The rainy season is full of surprises until you get a little more acquainted with it. Once you know it better, you can roll with the soggy punches. One of the unpleasant parts of the rainy season is that things don't really ever get dry. There is so much moisture in the air that things seem to keep perpetually damp. The funny thing is that you don't realize this fact until the mildew starts appearing. I first noticed it on my hat that hangs on a nail on the wall. Little speckles of mildew hinted around the brim and top. I washed it, scrubbing hard on those mildewy spots, and bleached it overnight, but nothing seemed to help. The mildew remains. Our folded clothes have been having problems too. I pick up a shirt to put on in the morning and am almost knocked out by the strong smell. I have tried hanging shirts that I want to wear, and that helps a bit, but is still bad. It is crazy to see everything around you molding from the wet air. Even the wooden rods that hold up our mosquito net dusted in a fine layer of mold. It's disgusting! Thank goodness the rain seems to be lessening by the day. I have a feeling the dry season will be upon us before we know it. And when it's here this girl is going to be doing some serious spring cleaning!


In case I have given you a bad taste in your mouth about the rainy season, don't worry, it isn't all bad. In fact, despite it all, it is a real blessing to have months of rain. One of my favorite parts of the rainy weather is that is is nice and cool. Sometimes it is so cool that I thoroughly enjoy the use of my sweatshirt and pants to ward off the goose bumps. It is wonderful to also appreciate snuggling up with my sheet and blanket at night when I go to bed. In the dry season it gets so hot that you feel like you will never get to sleep. The coolness of the rainy season is WONDERFUL!


Another thing I really like about the wet season is the flowers that have come in bloom. We have a gorgeous flower that grows wild on the outskirts of our campus. This flower is social, growing in groups. Every time I go out walking, I am wished farewell by these beautiful little treasures. Other jungle flowers can be seen here and there too. I love it!

Like I mentioned earlier, it is also super nice not to have to water the ever growing garden. Michael has been working on the garden as he has been able and the fruits of his labor are finally being noticed. He has been extremely grateful to have to help of students and staff alike during the afternoon work periods. It has made the work go quite a bit faster.

We enjoyed the abundance of Bora during the holiday break and now that the Bora is dwindling we are looking forward to a couple other crops that are springing up. Actually we just enjoyed our first meal where everyone got a garden grown ear of corn today. It's a bit of a novelty to have corn on the cob down here. It was very sweet and we were wishing for more. I hear we might all get another tonight. Boy oh boy oh boy!!!



Michael has also counted about 35 pumpkins that are plumping up nicely out in the field that got planted earlier. Pumpkin is a delight down here are you can use it in many different dishes: pumpkin curry, pumpkin pie, pumpkin pone (a sweet and delicious treat), pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes... you can even use young pumpkin like zucchini. I LOVE IT!!! I can't wait until they start getting ripe!