Rain

Wow. Yesterday the rains officially started - I don't think I've ever seen so much water dumped from the sky in such a short period of time. I watched the storm with a large crowd of people after ducking into a store - you could barely see five feet through the wall of water. After an hour or so it let up and we headed out. This was the most fun of all - the streets were now rivers with water at times over two feet high and flowing fast. All the traffic that had stopped for an hour (pedestrian, vehicle, and bike) was now filling the mud and rain drenched sidewalks in a vibrant mass of humanity and hilarity. The market that lines the sidewalks was still going on as people literally slipped and slided into the piles of fruit and fish (wet banana peels and mud do not make a good combination). I think there was a competition between matatu drivers to see who could create the biggest waves - a large splash, particularly if it hit a bunch of pedestrians, would get a cheer from the audience on the sidewalk. It was one of my more amusing walks home - and for the first time I didn't arrive home hot and dusty... I was soaked and muddy, and very entertained.