The Rains have Come!

The view outside my apartment at school....the ground littered with Jacaranda tree blossoms!

It's been a while since I last wrote, and lots has happened in-between (including a spontaneous weekend trip to Johannesburg, in which I indulged in quantities of retail therapy!!)

But today something significant happened: the first rains of the season arrived! We had some minor showers last week, but today we could hear it, smell it, feel its arrival on the parched earth. Rain isn't something I generally think about, but here in Zim, at the end of the dry season, you can't help but anticipate the rains. You look to the sky and analyze whether or not that small cloud will turn into something more substantial, or whether it will dissipate into the endless blue above.

And then when it suddenly arrived about an hour ago, you could hear this rustling coming from a distance. For a moment I wondered if it was a strong wind, when the rain pounded down on us and brought the ground back to life! I think it's the smell that gets me most about the rain here in Harare. The smell of life and living creatures and of everything waking up! You can't help but feel like praising the skies, the gods and whoever else, that this great gift of life continues!!

On a more sobering note, we continue to struggle with other things: last week my mother and brother were here for a short visit from South Africa. The trip was made ridiculously awkward due to the shortage of fuel. There was (and still is) no fuel to be found anywhere!! The government has pegged the fuel price at Z$300/litre, and in reality the fueling stations should be selling it at around Z$1,300. So they would be selling it at a loss. So what happens? We do without! I drove to church earlier today -- my first trip off campus this week -- and there were hardly any cars on the road! Since the petrol stations aren't selling fuel, the only place to get it is the black market. There are two major problems with that: 1.) you could get arrested (seriously...it is illegal to buy/put in fuel if you haven't bought it at the pump) or 2.) it could be watered down petrol, in which case your car will pour out black smoke and have numerous other problems. Neither one an attractive option!

So yes, the petrol has been tricky! But we press on, and hope things will improve soon. Are our hopes realistic, or are we simply being hopeful fools?