monsoon

Well, it rained very hard again today. People say the monsoon season has arrived. It seems  little early to me, but the weather sure seems to indicate that the rains are here. On one hand, I am glad for the relief from the blazing hot temperatures.

(I actually felt a little chilly tonight as we drove home on our motor bike.)

On the other hand, it is not easy to get around town during these big rains. First of all, we do drive a motorbike, so it's a very soggy proposition to go out in the rain. Secondly, many of the roads flood, which clogs traffic and makes them basically impassable. (Yes, I do indeed live in the capital city of this country. It is still quite underdeveloped in many ways.)

This afternoon Mr. needed to get to a shop by five to pick up something before they closed. He ran one errand first, at about 3:30, and then it started pouring. He waited it out, and, about an hour later, the precipitation stopped. Unfortunately, the roads he needed to take were flooded. The water was so high that it stalled his motor bike. He had to push it quite a ways to get to drier ground, and never actually made it to the shop.

While he was doing that, I was meeting with my two friends to talk about our joint book writing venture. I think we made some progress, and everyone seems pretty excited about the idea.

Later that evening, we all went out for a really nice Italian supper. Pasta, wine, good friends. These friends have been here for 15 years, and are moving their family back to the US to live. We have known them ever since we arrived in 2000. We will miss them a lot, but we're hoping lots of good things for them in their new home. I'm sure we will keep in touch.

I was hoping to send birthday cards with them when they went. I don't know if I'm going to make it. I have about 12 to make, and I just have tomorow to do it in. I will definitely need an early start tomorrow, so I had better get to bed now. I'm so ready. It's raining gently now, and it's a very calming sound. Besides that, the cat is climbing things, so I can tell she is bored and needing some playful attention. :-)