Saturday, November 04, 2006

Short Rains


The entire time I have been in Kenya, I have heard people talking about the short rains that begin in October, and I have wondered what that would mean for my life. Well, they finally started, and basically it means that the sky is fairly sunny during the day, but it pours rain at nighttime. The farmers that live in my community are thrilled, and any time I walk down the road I can find women working in the shambas just as happy as can be about the rain that means food is guaranteed this season. However, the rain and I are not on such friendly terms. First of all, every road in my life right now is made of red clay, and when it rains, the clay turns to mud and sticks to everything it touches including my shoes and clothes. Even worse than the mud, because mud is an issue I could foresee and expect, there are bugs. Our house is totally and completely infested with every type of insect imagineable. Every night, hundreds of buzzing, flying, crawling, swarming things invade our house seeking sanctuary from the rain. There are bees, wasps, termites, flying ants, beetles, spiders, fruit flies, house flies, winged worm things, and, of course, mosquitos. Every night a new battle begins between me and the insects, but I am afraid I am losing. I can't explain how much amusement and frustration these creatures bring to my life. There are a lot of problems and challenges that I expected when I decided to move here, but I guess I never thought I would spend so much time armed with a rolled up paper, spinning in circles, swatting at the air.

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