January 18, 2011
So, I’ve been here awhile! Friday was two months at site. Tomorrow marks another month of my Peace Corps experience. Which means I’ve basically been here for 5 months. That is almost half a year. As far as my marathon analogy I’ve done 4 miles and have 22 to go. My PC friend in Tacloban has been keeping track of weeks. based on M’s count I’ve been here 22 weeks. When I type it I realize that it sounds like a long time, but when I think about August, it doesn’t seem that long ago. However, what does make me realize the time I’ve been here is the weather. When we got here there was something totally different going on out there. It was hot all the time and rained sometimes. Now it rains. I’ve been here for a change in ‘seasons’!
So I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the change of seasons. I very much have a love hate relationship going on with the rain. It is still a very foreign concept to me. In Wyoming it snows, we don’t get rain. In New Mexico we do have the monsoons, but an hour of rain each afternoon is way different than weeks of rain.
Let us exam the hate part of my relationship. First, I’m not loving this whole wet feet thing. I don’t think they’ve been dry since November. My shoes are wet. I hate sloshing home in the puddle in my wet sandals. Who does? Second, I am not an umbrella person. What a nuisance. I get wet any ways. Maybe I’m doing it wrong, or maybe I’m just too tall for it to truly serve its purpose. In order for it to do any good I have to hold it way low over my head, which makes me blind and antisocial on my walk home. And most of the time the thing is broken in some way. To be honest, I really only use the thing so that people don’t tell me to use it. Third is something I’ve mentioned before, but laundry implications. It just doesn’t dry. Nothing dries. I’m pretty sure my pillow has mold, which can’t be healthy. Fourth, I’ve not been running since mid-December. Now I don’t know if I’d hit the road sans rain, but I like to think I would have. Last on my list, for now, is I don’t like to be rained on while I use the loo. We’ve got 4 solid leaks in there and lots of baby leaks. The toilet is soaking, I get dripped on, mosquitoes love it it in there. Not fun.
However, the rain is not all bad, and it could be a lot of worse. My daily text updates from L in Samar are astonishing. Three days without power, that is hard core Peace Corps! So, my ode to rain. Despite the list rain makes me happy. It evokes memories of those rare times when I’d go play in the rain as a kid, and even in my later years. I sleep better when it rains. It puts me to sleep, and reminds me of backpacking. I’ll take rain on a tin roof over videoke, roosters, trucks, etc any day. I’d also take the weather being in the upper 70s any day. I like my rain jacket. It makes me feel cool, and is a great color. People are impressed that I know how to say, “It is raining!” in WarayWaray.
This rain is crazy! Filipinos are afraid of getting wet, and I have a hard time staying dry. It marks time here, they have a rainy season, and a not rainy season. Before I know it will be summer break, and I’ll be missing the rain like crazy. Until then, I’ll try not to let it frustrate me too much.
And yes, I did just write a whole blog about rain. Ma uran!
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