rainy season

The rainy season is upon us.  This year it rained through the dry season.  But, as if to demarcate the official start of the rainy season, the weather has been sopping; jeans and towels no longer dry on the line.  I used to think of rain as refreshing and cleansing and definitely cool if not cold.  But it's as hot a ever when it rains in the day, and actually it seems hotter.  When we walked home from school the sun was out but there was still a fine mist of rain.  It was steamy; the air felt like thick, wet gauze.  The three of us arrived home soaked in sweat and red-faced, exclaiming at the heat.  This is why air conditioning was invented.

When it rains in the afternoon it is torrential.  I am grateful to be at home and not out somewhere struggling with an umbrella.  A lake forms in the backyard.  The streets fill up with water in places where the storm drains are clogged with garbage.  It does not surprise me that this is the start of the flu season here.  Between the constant fogging for mosquitos, and the rats looking for  dry homes, it feels terribly insalubrious.  This goes on for a few days, the dampness invading everything.  The pages of my book feel clammy; there's a rash on the inside of my elbow...

And then the sun comes out.

The sun comes out and this incredibly, lush and green world sparkles and shines.  We bask in the park despite the mosquitos.  These glorious sunny afternoons are cherished not just by us, the park is bustling with families.  Shadows are magical after days of cloudy dullness.  Light filtering through trees is positively miraculous.  We are just at the start of the rainy season and these desultory, sparkling, sunny days will buoy us through to December.