When the Rains Came

People have been talking about the rains for the past couple of months - they're talked about like a much anticipated visit from a favorite aunt. People long for the rain here and while I adore the sun I have to admit that I'd begun to join them. The dust in the slums and surrounding area is grim. The ground soil is so fine that even the gentlest gust of wind blows huge clouds of the red dust into the air making one blind, filthy and induces choking as you simply can't avoid inhaling it. I'd taken to walking around with my kikoi wrapped around my head but even this had little effect. The school playground has been one large dust bowl and even though the children seem completely unaffected, I've been increasingly exhausted by it. The classrooms are permanantly filthy, no matter how often the children clean them, and text books are constantly covered in a film of grit. I've returned home every day with scratchy eyes, a sore dry throat and matted hair. It takes ages to feel clean (no thanks to our drizzler of a shower) and then it happens all over again the following day. So the thought of a few rain showers to stick the dust to the floor and freshen the air was a glorious idea. But of course the 'rains' aren't a few gentle showers. They are thunderous torrents of water that turn the dust into a mud bath that would delight a hippo. So I've swapped dusty flip flops for mud splattered trainers. The slums have become trecherous terrain and my journey to school involves slipping through inches of mud, leaping over puddles and desperately looking out for something solid to tiptoe onto. It's a fairly futile excersize trying to keep mud-free and much quicker to slop through the puddles and mud (and goodness knows what else) even if it means turning up at school filthy and splattered from head to foot. The children are of course complete troopers and splash around in the mud and puddles with great abandon. I dread to think what kind of bugs they could pick up as they slosh around without shoes on but they're a pretty resiliant bunch. The rains have also had a real impact on the lessons. Without the natural light provided by bright sunny days the classrooms are incredibly dark which puts a real strain on one's eyes, not to mention trying to speak over the noise of the rain hammering on the roof. We might as well invite a steel band into the room such is the din. Still, the rains have provided a bit of a festive atmosphere and while I don't much enjoy being wet and dirty all day it is lovely to be able to breath in the fresh, clean air.