Rains are Here!

The short rainy season has begun in Keren! So far we've had a few warnings and one real rainfall, but people are well prepared with lots of barrels and buckets to collect the water that runs off their roofs for washing. It's coming at a good time as we haven't have city water in a month and our reserves are low. We can pay a truck to bring us some, but rain water is free.

The lead up to the rains is very dramatic. It begins with a very hot and humid day, the kind that makes you just want to lie in bed all day with a big glass of cold water, or other refreshments if you are Kim! The sky fills with dark clouds and it gets very windy, so windy that the dust and sand gets swept up and fills the air. Everyone starts placing their barrels strategically, then, usually it all stops and nothing happens. But a few days ago the rain actually fell, for about half an hour. Maya, Luka, Simon, Yasmin and Kelly all enjoyed it thoroughly, dancing and laughing and getting very very wet. These are only the short rains though. In June and July we'll be treated to the real rainy season when Keren gets transformed into a lush, green area. I've been told it's a great time to visit, so please consider doing so.

All else is going well. The big news is local Coke, Fanta and Sprite are back. Since we've arrived, there have only been soft drinks imported from Saudi Arabia. They cost 1.50, which on our $100/month salaries is way out of the question. On Saturday, we met our VSO friends in the local cafe and discovered everyone drinking coke with Tigrinha written on it, bottled in Asmara, and available for 50 cents!!! I'm not a fan of pop, but after months of water and mineral water and tea, a cold, refreshing coke really hit the spot. The boys are of course in 7th heaven!

The other great news is that Saba's poems were just pulished in a collection of Eritrean poetry. She has been waiting a year for them to be published and is very proud. We celebrated with pizza and watermelon on Monday and she read them to us in Tigrinha. Then I read them in English and burst into tears because one of them was so touching. Now I'll have a difficult choice for my favourite poet, my sister or Saba, but I guess I can have two! (Whoops, I can't forget Kim's mom!) Monday was Mohammed's birthday and a national holiday but nothing special seemed to be going on except for people relaxing in the heat. It was a nice break.

I also survived a trip to the Keren hospital for blood checks which I need to do for my medication (all is well). It could have been a day long, stressful experience judging from all the people sitting around waiting. But luckily Saba has connections in the hospital and I was rushed through in less than an hour. Saba had a big laugh when I came with my urine sample. She made me dump most of it out before giving it to the lab because I guess Eritreans don't create such large quantities of urine ( a strategic way to avoid using the less than pleasant toilets?)

We had a nice visit on Sunday with some Indian friends we have just made. We were treated to good conversation along with samosas and semolina seasoned with cinnamon etc. Yum.

I guess that's all for now. Take care,

Barbara