Singing in the Rain

It’s Thursday, September 18, 2008 and although I have the day off, I went to the school to use the internet and prepare for next weeks class on “Methods and Channels of Business Communications”. It started to rain last night – real rain, not the kind we have in Los Angeles. It hasn’t stopped. The roosters didn’t seem to mind this morning; they went about their job of crowing beginning at 4 a.m., waking everyone in the village as if there were no weather disturbance whatsoever. I’ve become used to them; although I do wish they would wait until 6:00 to start their alarm clocks. The crickets begin their song in early evening and provide a melodic performance all night. They are still singing when the roosters chime in. Around 6 a.m. the crickets silence and the birds chime in, each with it’s own distinctive call. Each creature seemingly knows precisely when to begin their song. Is this a wonder of nature that each cues another?

According to the weather report, rain is to continue through Monday. There are times when I feel like I am acclimating to this country and other times when I feel so “Los Angeles”. Last night was one of those Los Angeles moments. The rain was coming down so hard it woke me up. I listened to it for several minutes and remembered the clothes I had drying on the line on the porch. I got up to retrieve my clothes so they wouldn’t get wet and hung them in front of the fan in my room.

I turned off the light and went back to bed listening to thunder and seeing lightening through the mosquito net around my bed and the thin curtains in my room. At times, I was even frightened. This storm by Los Angeles standards would be the topic of conversation on the news …”Storm Watch 2008 with Dallas Raines. Stay tuned for the live Doppler Radar”. We would be talking about floods and mudslides. There would be more accidents than usual and people would be stranded in flooded areas. This storm would be the number one news topic. It wouldn’t matter if Fanny and Freddie were having a bad day, or that Americans now own a piece of AIG. Barack who? Sara what? It would be a good day to take a “mental health” day. Here, no one says a word – it’s business as usual. No one even commented this morning about the fact that it is raining.

After making a cup of Nescafe, I went to my room, took a shower and dressed. I grabbed my umbrella and began walking through the mud and puddles of water to the Micoud Secondary School. Oh, by the way, those water shoes I was beginning to think were a silly idea – am I ever glad I have them!