When you go to bed you think the day is over. What else can happen? Besides the fact that my host brother is a bit of a partier and I wake up when he opens the gate each night/morning about 1 or 2am last night it rained. Rain for the first time since I’ve been in Africa. It’s only been a month and having been living in San Diego these past so many years I’m used to not seeing rain. But I didn’t think I’d be seeing rain until rainy season which starts around end of May to June. I couldn’t sleep, as usual, because it’s so STINKIN hot, then my brother came home about 2am. Then about 2:30 the wind started howling something fierce. My guess would be the gust were around 50 plus miles per hour. Because of the way these structures are made (like crap) out of mud and spit I’m guessing when it gets really windy the tin roof sounds like it’s going to blow off and some of the “cement” inside the room drops from the walls and ceilings. Literally it sounds like the room will fall down. I didn’t care. Usually no air gets into my mosquito net at all, but big winds like this…they got in. Every once in a while there was a slight relief for a few seconds from the heat. About 10 minutes into the winds all of a sudden there was a flash of lightning and then the rain. I had heard stories in some of the PC information I had read up on about the rain when you live in a home with a tin roof opposed to when you live in a home with a thatched roof. They say with a thatched room you may have some leaking, not to mention what can live in those thatched roofs, but with a tin roof, the sound of the rain is deafening. It really wasn’t too bad, but then again neither was the rain. It started off slow and with that you could almost hear each rain drop. But when it started raining a bit harder the sound was constant but not too bad. I liked the fact that it was raining and the wind cooled my room a little and I’ve always loved rain. I didn’t sleep but you can’t have everything…especially when living in Africa.
The mangos are falling, the mangos are falling…
So with the winds and the rain comes mangos. Mango season will get here in the next 3-4 weeks anyway, but it is told that some Malians will not eat the mangos until after the first rain of the season when they are washed clean. So even though the mangos are ripe and ready they will not eat them. And from what I hear, the mangos are the size of your head. I’ve been waiting since I found out I was coming to Mali for mangos. Mali is famous for mangos and papayas. The papayas I’ve already have and I have to say after never having really eaten them in the states I really like them here. Much more flavorful. I also like their little bananas. They are only about 4 inches long…I think I’ve seen little ones like these in the grocery stores at home from time to time. I’m not a big banana lover but these are pretty good. But mangos…the time is drawing near. For the most part you don’t ever have to pay for them either. Depending on where you live mango trees are everywhere. And unlike orange tree, avocado trees, peach trees, apple trees, etc that are always behind fenced in areas these trees are out in the open and are for everyone…even if they are in someone’s yard. And if you do have to buy them at the market they are only 100 francs, or 20 cents. THE SIZE OF YOU HEAD!!!
Today was supposed to be laundry day but after the rains last night and today is the first day I haven’t seen sun out from the second the day starts. In fact it looks like it’s going to rain any minute. I hope it does. I am held up in my room so far this morning. This is the first day that I haven’t had anything to do. The other PCVs are hitchhiking to one of the other villages. I didn’t want to go and with the weather the way it is I’m glad I didn’t. Of course my brother is already bugging me about coming outside and hanging out. They have no concept of “alone time”. If they don’t have their friends and family with them at ALL times they are not whole. I told him I’m staying in my room for a while. Like it or not. I don’t care. I’m hoping I can take a nap since I slept about 3 hours (not in a row) last night. But somehow I doubt it. Even without the sun out my room is almost 90 degrees. It’s only 9am.
6:15pm
The heat is relentless. The sun never did come out. You would think that it would be cooler and yet it’s not. You can feel the heat coming out of the ground. I didn’t get to take a nap today. I was laying down and some of the PCTs from another village rode their bikes down here. I hung out with them for about an hour before they left with the last of the PCTs that were still in village this morning…no including me. I never left. I went for a walk, hung out with my brother, ate lunch and did nothing. I kind of wish I had the energy to have gone with them. I knew it would be a boring, hot day. But I’m just wishing my time by until we go to Tubaniso and with this heat it’s hard to do anything to make the time go by faster. My host sister wanted me to walk with her to her families new compound and garden. But it’s a 25 minute walk…there, then back. I just can’t do it. I’m finally alone again. I’m in my room where it’s 92 degrees and since I can’t nap I’m just catching up with my blog. I can’t get to get to camp and have internet so I can download all my notes and pictures.
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