You know, I used to really hate the
rain. It meant getting soaking wet at cross-country practice. It meant a yucky
walk to school in the mud. It meant needing to carry an umbrella amongst so
many other things. When I woke up to rain, it would automatically put me in a
bad mood. But my mind has completely turned around regarding rain.
I remember my first month in Bondo
Village—there was a full week when it didn’t stop raining. Cooking outside was
a challenge, and I was struggling for entertainment. I was so bored and
miserable. I spent a whole day doodling in a sketchbook with literally nothing
else to do. I specifically remember this one time when I was talking to my
neighbor and asked her if she liked rain or sunshine to which she replied rain.
I couldn’t believe it. I told her I preferred sunshine, ‘like a little sunshine child’ I thought. Whenever it was sunny, I
practically sprawled out on my porch, soaking up the Vit D and enjoying the
warmth on my skin (it was also cold season so I guess that explains some
things).
Nowadays, when there’s rain, I
practically jump with excitement! I’m thrilled for a variety of reasons.
First—I have water! With a tap in my courtyard that works extremely
inconsistently, a lot of times I don’t have enough water stored up to wash
clothes or dishes or mop my floors. When it rains, I can put all my buckets outside under the roof
edge and collect rainwater.
Secondly, it’s relaxing. Aside from
when it storms or downpours, the sound of steady drizzle on my tin roof is
soothing. Combine it with some chill music, and I’m in for a stress-relieving
morning. It also means that not as many people are out and about outside, so
there’s less noise and people don’t come to visit me to chat as often (which is
kind of nice sometimes because I don’t have to be constantly prepared to
welcome visitors). A rainy morning means that I can focus on my work and feel
comfortable in my house because it’s not so hot.
Third, seeing water outside
streaming to the ground and dripping off of the plants is just beautiful. People
live much more in rhythm with natural cycles here in Malawi as there’s really
not much escape from nature—no air conditioning, outdoor kitchens and
‘outhouses,’ and gardens and animals right outside houses. Farmers rely on the
rain to bring them food to feed their family as well as surplus to sell as
income. With droughts and dry spells plaguing the country in recent years,
light, steady rains are truly appreciated as they soothe the thirst of the
dusty ground and plants. The sun is also ridiculously strong here and easily
burns the plants. Regular rain is essential to keeping them alive. It also
promotes huge growth in any and all of plants and crops in our village. Tea
requires a lot of rain and water, which is why it is mostly grown in Mulanje
and Thyolo districts (where it characteristically rains 8/12 months of the year). So when there’s rain, I know that the estates
will do well and that people in my community who have tea plots where they sell
their tea to the companies will make decent money off of a good crop of tea.
I woke up this morning at 5 AM,
hoping to go for a run considering yesterday evening my run was cut short by an
approaching rain shower. However, when my alarm went off, I heard the soft purr
of rain on my roof. I rolled back over and continued to sleep for three more
hours knowing that the dirt roads in the village would be torn up and muddy
from the constant rain and the wheels of the massive tractors driving up and
down collecting tea. Although I wouldn’t like for this to happen every morning, occasionally, a peaceful
night’s sleep and a relaxing morning drinking cups of tea, listening to the
pitter-patter of the rain into buckets on my porch, and writing blog posts can
be insanely revitalizing.