When God Splashes A Little Rain On Central Africa

This morning was a late start, as Yaya was with his wife who is back at the hospital but doing ok. We were late and the weather was forming an ominous cauldron around us. We beat the downpour to the camp though, but it caught up to us with a vengeance right about the time we started. Being under a tin roof in a deluge is an interesting experience - deafening doesn't quite cover it.

Normally, we are spread across the room, but when the wind drives in at a 45 degree angle, we improvise. They couldn't hear me so I wrote quite a bit on the board, which of course they loved. I try not to write too much as they focus on copying and not on listening. Today was an exception :)

Right after the rain passed, the whole world came alive. Suddenly, I was no longer "color weak" and things were very vivid and contrasts striking. 

Introducing the high five to the camp

I wish I was at the camp on Sundays - I would stop by this small church

They are only holding their loads with their right hands because they are laughing at me. Imagine miles and miles of a small road cut out of the forest lined with women walking up and down toting all manner of resources hands free!

Today is market day, though interrupted by the rain. It is an amazing place when the wind and rain passes. Everyone comes out laughing and the air smells as pure as the smiles and waves that line my path

This is a rare picture! Normally there is an adult on the bike or beside it, and the bike is loaded down with cargo. Here, just a little boy on a big bike :)

As I said, cargo. They are hauling charcoal from a local kiln.

A thousand of these smiles everyday! I might not come back

Oops - it is impossible to imagine that these big trucks traverse this road!!! Sometimes they get stuck. I didn't mind, as it allowed me time to get to take pictures and to practice my Lingala - Sango te!

Hanging out watching the truck extraction, playing king of the hill

On the other side of the road, the queen of the hill

Eventually tired of waiting, Yaya and I  (mostly Yaya) get out and forge an alternate path around the stuck truck

This is the most intriguing part of the hour and half commute each way (three hours today). Each day, I try to guess if Yaya will go left, right, or up the middle. Coming down is no better. Oddly, this is by no means the most difficult patch of road

Another delay - Cattle Crossing

I call this place the "Dr. Seuss Village" mainly because of the trees

There must be a Lorax hiding somewhere here!

The first picture is always stoic - the second, well you see...

I had stopped at the open air market in the camp to buy some fruits and veggies. My first attempt at food preparation here - cucumbers, onions, cherry tomatoes, papaya, avocado, garlic, vinegar, oil, and a little of Julienne's crushed habanero mixture. Was great! The sweetness of the papaya and the bite of the habanero mixed very well

Today was such a spectacular day! I was engulfed by everything around me. The dullish red clay in the bricks were vermilion today, I just know it. The trees held the brooding sky to the earth, and the children danced underneath them.