the grass is always greener, or you don't know what you've got 'tll its gone

Early november was the last time we saw rain here in the Adamaoua. The dry season drags on and on, the dust creeping in every possible space. the leaves of the trees get covered in coating of red dust, as do I - especially after a car ride (see the photo of my father a few posts back). By February we were all hoping for an early start to the rains. After a few months of complete dryness, you begin to feel dusty on the inside. I'm thirsty just thinking about it. Each week we came closer to the time when we could realistically expect to see some moisture. FINALLY, last week it arrived. The first rain was barely enough to wet the ground, but the next day there was a good, bone soaking shower.

So we waited all this time for the rain, and as soon as it came I realized how frustrating it can be. A friend and I had planned to climb the mountain in the morning, but couldn't because of the rain. i decided i should do something else productive since i was up early anyway. Of course, the rain thwarted my other ideas as well; you can't do laundry in the rain and you can't go to the market because no one will be there. When I eventually did get to the market after the rains quit for the day, it was a muddy mess, and I nearly fell a number of times.

That was about four days ago. This morning I woke up and there was a strange light coming from the window. I rubbed my eyes, thinking there was something wrong. The house was filled with an rusty orange glow, and as i stepped outside, i realized what was going on. Dust. Again. That was at 7:30 this morning. Its 3pm now and it seems to be getting worse. The air is filled with a choking red dust. Visibility is about 100 yards. Its almost like looking at the world through a sepia lens. All the moto taxi men look like they just left a bomb scene, their faces, eyelashes and clothes covered with dust. You look down the street and in the distant you can make out hazy figures through the apocalyptic glow. The world looks like its coming to an end. This morning the man who cleans our house was here and washed all the floors and surfaces. By 1pm, when I got home, it looked like its been a week since anyone washed the house. This dust is worse than anything i've ever seen.

View from the hospital. normally you can
see the whole city below.

In sum, when its dry, we want rain, and when it rains, we want it to stop. I have always said that this country is a place of extremes- there is rarely a happy medium. My grievances with the dry season are quickly eliminated with the first rains, and a new list of difficulties arises.

Either we're choking on dust like today or we're drowning in the mud like at the market the other day.

The world in sepia.

Will we ever see the sun again?