The First Pula!

Hallelujah, the rains are finally here! This afternoon, I was working on a paper when a huge rumble rocked the room. I was confused for a minute because this is the first time I have heard thunder here. Usually sounds like that are the echos of a car or something in the barren courtyard, like the trash truck that comes every morning, warning beeps and all. But when I finally did hear the rush and patter of rain outside, I was so excited. The past week has been just brutally hot, with highs of 43 degrees Celsius (that's almost 110 Fahrenheit) during the day. There is no air conditioning in the rooms, so when we're trying to do work in our rooms we just sweat; even at night, even without any sheets, or blankets, or clothes on I still just sweat. Thrice a day cold showers have become a necessity.

But these rains are a blessing! Finally its cool outside again. I understand the Batswana love of pula (Setswana word for rain) now, because rain brings relief. I think though that this means there will be triple the number of mosquitos in a week or so, which is not welcome news. I might have to invest in a mosquito net.

A few of the American students were standing out in the rain just enjoying the coolness, which garnered a few strange looks from the locals. Some of them were watching us curiously from the balcony, perhaps thinking we were strange. All I could think about was that scene from Singing in the Rain. I was tempted to sing it a little bit, but not too much.

View of the first rain from my window