Rainy Season

Right now in Tanzania, we are in the midst of the rainy season of the year.  Since we’re on the Equator, there are really only two seasons that occur: Dry Season (June to February) and Rainy Season (March to May).  While there have been short periods throughout my year here when it has rained occasionally, dealing with the true rainy season has been an interesting albeit frustrating experience. Coming from Sunny California, particularly Los Angeles where when it infrequently rains people behave (especially on the roads) like it’s the next big natural disaster, I’m not so used to the constant rainfall in a place where when it rains it brings more serious difficulties than just a few slick roads.  I wouldn’t call it the most enjoyable aspect of life at the end of my time in Tanzania as it has posed a few extra challenges to my days, but at times it can be a fascinating display of nature’s power that I haven’t really experienced back in the U.S.  If anything, it has made me appreciate, and look forward to, all of those sunny days that are easy to take for granted in Southern California. 

 I can see why it’s called the “rainy season,” since it tends to rain just about every day.  However, it doesn’t rain hard every day.  Some days there is just a brief shower and other days it will rain so hard that it can even wake you up from the deepest sleep.  Unfortunately, the rainy season has brought with it a few more difficulties to life here than I’ve previously had to deal with.  Most notably, there hasn’t been much relief from the heat but there has been an increase in humidity.  Combined with the already present high temperatures, this has made it slightly more unpleasant in the classroom and in my house, and also more difficult to dry clothes after washing them.  And speaking of washing clothes, there has been an increase in laundry duty due to the amount of mud everywhere.  Probably the worst aspect of the rainy season so far is that it floods all of the roads, which are all mostly dirt, so it turns them into roads of slick, slimy mud with enormous puddles to navigate around. It’s not uncommon to find parts of the road completely flooded and un-walkable.  This tends to be a problem when I have to take my 25-minute walk to Mongola Secondary after a hard rain.  It’s pretty common to see a lot of people with their pant legs rolled up as they try to get from one place to another.  Somehow, even after doing this my pants still seem to get muddy!  As for running, the rainy season has had its adverse effect on that, too.  Unfortunately many of my routes have become flooded or overgrown with heavy brush and tall grass, so I’ve had to get pretty creative in finding new, drier places to run.

With all of the setbacks that the rainy season has brought, it’s not all bad.  The rain has certainly improved the scenery.  Now all of the fields and mountains are incredibly lush and green, and it makes for some really beautiful sights.  It’s also amazing to see how fast the crops can grow, since this is the season when most people are planting and growing their harvest for the rest of the year.  Also, on some days when I have nothing to do, the rain can be a good excuse to be lazy and just catch up on reading and some other things.  At times when the rain is at it’s hardest, I know it’s going to make a mess of things outside, but when it is raining it’s cool to just stare in awe at how much rain can really fall at one time.  I keep telling people here that if it were a lot colder, we’d probably have about 3 feet of snow in one day!

Even though the rainy season has its ups and downs, I’m glad that it’s come at the tail end of my time here.  It’s both a fascinating, and at the same time miserable display of nature’s power.  It just goes to show you that the weather is always one thing in the world that you’ll never be able to control but can sometimes have a big control over you.  As I sit and stare out at the torrential downpour coming down outside my house this afternoon, at least I will always have a reason to appreciate the sunny days of Southern California, and might even be able to tolerate the crazy drivers on the rain soaked streets of L.A. just a little (tiny bit) more when I return.