When it rains it pours!

People who live here really love the rains because it cools everything off and it provides for a good harvest. I love the rain too. There is something peaceful about it. And when it's blue skies and scorching sun 99% of the time, a little rain is a nice change of pace. The only thing about rain here is that it comes without warning in a matter of minutes (no Dad, I can't just flip on the Weather Channel to check the radar...no TV. And even if i had one the Weather Channel wouldn't be an option. Only Burkina news and African dancing videos.), and when it rains it really does pour. So last weekend me and another volunteer were on the other side of town visiting friends and decided to head home around 9pm. We were a 20 minute bike ride from my house. About 5 minutes into the trip she got a flat tire. We asked around for a bike mechanic, but they were all closed. So we decided to walk our bikes. We noticed there was a lot of dust in the air, but figured it was because of all the cars driving past. Well 5 more minutes down the road and the winds kicked in. The winds are no joke! Dust was flying everywhere in hurricane-like winds, we couldn't even see. Then I felt a drop. Thank God for the kindness of people in this country. We were just walking past 2 girls and one of them yelled that we had to come into her house. Just like that! So we followed her and 5 seconds later the rains hit like Katrina. All the houses here (well, most of the houses here) have tin roofs, so when it rains it is defeaning. And this girl didn't have electricity, so we sat in the dark for a few minutes before she brought out a kerosene lamp. So there we were, sitting in this stranger's house, looking at each other by kerosene light, not able to speak because it was too loud, and I giggled as I thought to myself "I would never be in this situation back home." It rained for a long time and I must have dozed off because I woke up to this little old man with only one arm telling me in the local language that I could sleep on the mat that he had prepared for me on the floor. And if that wasn't ok, I could have the girl's bed. Never, never would this happen back home. I just smiled and thanked him profusely and told him it really wasn't necessary. I think it rained for like 45 minutes before we heard the rain calm enough to be able to continue walking. We thanked the girl and the old man for their hospitality and off we went. Many people offered us rides or just to push our bikes and walk with us. Gosh people are so helpful here. Sometimes on my rough days here I forget that. This was such a great reminder. We made it home eventually, grabbed a beer and stayed up laughing and talking about how funny the night turned out to be and how this was just another experience to add to the many we've had in Burkina. Never a dull moment.