Rain, Rain Go Away

The rain really needs to stop now, I have had enough. I just waded through nearly knee-deep puddles as I returned from the other side of village this evening. I am dripping wet and cold. It seems that my rain jacket has gone from being "water resistant" to "water absorbent". A new jacket is now at the top of my wish list. Of course, I do not own an umbrella either because of a deeply entrenched belief that using or even purchasing one would somehow reduce my manliness.

Many of the village paths consist of a red clay that becomes unbelievably slippery when wet. Add steep hillsides to the equation and the possibility of sliding great distances on one's ass becomes very real. Sandals become useless when the red clay coats the inside and leaves you slipping with no traction. It is better to go barefoot and just clean your dirty feet at some later point in time.

I had dinner with a local family tonight, but the mother was not present because heavy rains flooded a nearby river and left her stranded on the other side. She will probably take shelter for the entire night with some villagers until the water level drops tomorrow morning.

Lots of rain means lots of mosquitos now, when normally they are not such a problem. Luckily, my windows are screened and I sleep under a mosquito net for extra protection. Nothing is more annoying in life than trying to fall asleep with a mosquito buzzing in one's ear canal. My garden is very green. I have a small nursery bed for all of my lettuce and cabbage seedlings but I have to cover it well with banana leaves so that the heavy rains do not wash it away.

The camera man is due to fly in tomorrow to shoot my music videos for the week. Lots of rain would spoil our plans to go hiking and capture some of the scenery here. I hope things dry up...