I Bless the Rains Down in Africa…or do I?

Before leaving the U.S., I researched weather conditions for June and July in Gaborone. A 1% chance of precipitation based on 5-year data left me fairly certain I would not get to create this post. But on Monday I woke up to hear the wind rustling the leaves, felt the humidity in the air, and thought that it might just be my lucky day. Rain!

One of the few Setswana words I’ve learned here is pula, which means "rain" but is also the name of the Botswana currency—and the pula is broken down into 100 cents, called thebe, meaning "raindrops". The fact that money here is named after rain testifies to the value and importance of the latter in this arid country, where most of the land is the Kalahari Desert. Rain is not only money--it is vital for survival, to get a lot of it is lucky, and to have it at all, particularly at this time of year (even if it's just a few thebe), is a blessing.

The clouds hung low all day Monday, and as evening fell in Gaborone, lightning flashed across purple skies, thunder boomed, and the heavy downpour began. I think it could best be described as “raining zebras and wildebeests.” I stepped outside for a minute while I was cooking dinner to smell the freshness that always accompanies a new rainfall and allow my upturned face to soak up a few of the thick drops streaming out of the dark heavens.

It had been a good day—-work was starting to pick up, I’d just come off a great weekend of seeing incredible African wildlife, and the rain was falling on the edge of the desert. What better way to celebrate than by invoking the lyrics of that poetic band of the 80s, Toto? I bless the rains down in Africa…and sense a potential song for a future karaoke night. Turn it up (and enjoy the Lion King clips in the background!):



JD from Scrubs likes Toto too! And the scooter-driving scene is somewhat reminiscent of African roads and drainage systems...



The next morning, I woke up, and realized it was still raining. What happened to a 1% chance of precipitation? This must be the 100-year rainfall event. Why oh why did I only bring 1 pair of office-worthy closed-toed shoes? Oh right, because it wasn’t supposed to be like this! Forget sunny skies and average daily temperature of 75 degrees. I put on my tennis shoes for the commute to work, and changed once I arrived at the office. Indeed, all day, people were saying that this was unseasonable weather. Climate change is real, folks. And I’m hitting myself for giving up the sunny skies of a somewhere-else-summer for African winter. Tuesday night featured rolling power outages at our little house after we got back from seeing a movie. Luckily the stove is gas-fired, and our landlady provided us a battery-powered light.

Surely this weather couldn’t last more than 48 hours? Oh, but it could. Wednesday morning, and the rain was still drizzling off and on, expected to last until the weekend. This feels like Portland in winter, and not at all the quick, hour-long downpours you expect from African rains. Let’s just hope the Limpopo don’t overflow-oh. The cloudless blue skies can come back anytime now. I just pray the sun doesn’t take as long to reappear as it took Toto to break up (Are you serious, Wikipedia—how were they producing albums for 31 years? Did anyone really pay attention to them after the album Toto IV?). Hurry boy, it’s waiting there for you…