Rain, rain, rain

It finally stopped raining today after three days straight. Yesterday it poured the entire day, and the streets were literally rivers. It was the work of Tropical Storm Agatha, and that combined with the eruption of Volcano Pacaya a few days before made for a lot of destruction in all the surrounding areas. Everything is ok in my town, but there were apparently mudlides in some of the towns across the lake, and the airport in Guatemala City is going to be closed at least for a few more days due to the large amount muddy ash all over the runways.

Yesterday I didn't leave the house at all because I didn't want to get soaked, and also because nothing would have been open. Things stop here because of rain (and not just bad rain like yesterday)... kids don't go to school, meetings are canceled, people don't go to the hospital. Here's my reflective part of this entry: it seems a bit crazy to me that people wouldn't go to the hospital because of some rain, but things are entirely different here. Transportation becomes a problem, and it's difficult to wade through rainy, muddy streets often with children in tow. On Friday I was supposed to go around on prenatal home visits with a nurse from the health center, and it was only drizzling then so I thought she still would go. I got there at the time we agreed on, waited half an hour because she was in a meeting, and then she came out and looked at me like I was crazy - of course we're not checking these pregnant women today, it's raining! It's all part of the things to get used to working in this environment.

And now a little venting: Staying inside all day didn't mean the rain didn't affect me, as the houses here aren't exactly water-tight. Yesterday morning I woke up to find water running down my wall from the corner of a window, and the posterboards that I had on the floor ready for a lesson at the schools this week were soaked. It's not a huge problem since they'll probably dry by Wednesday, and if not I can buy more for about 12 cents a sheet. But last night, when it was finally late enough that I could reasonably go to sleep (and that means 10pm... I've been going to bed so early since nothing happens at night), I picked up my pajamas only to find they were sopping wet too. Apparently water had been coming in another hole that I hadn't seen, and it conveniently soaked all the pajamas I had (I'd been wearing them all at once since my room has been so cold the past few nights). After huffing around for a few minutes I put on all the other clean, dry clothes I could find and crawled into bed, still listening to the lovely rain pound the streets outside.

But today has been better. It's warm and sunny, I could leave my house, and there's a woman in labor at the hospitalito and if she keeps progressing at the rate she has been, I'll get to see the birth! It will be interesting because I'll be able to compare this one to the one I saw in the Centro de Salud. I was in her room earlier and it seemed a lot more like the labor and delivery rooms I'm used to (at least as much as it can, being a makeshift hospital in a former backpacker's hostel in rural Guatemala)... the woman was wearing a hospital gown, there was a fetal heart rate monitor going, and she was getting pain medication. Hopefully I do get to see the rest!

One more note: I shouldn't be surprised that a tropical storm decided to hit Guatemala while I'm here. I have this handy talent of inviting rain to every important event in my life, most notably my Bat Mitzvah and high school graduation, when it practically monsooned. So this is your warning, Penn class of 2011... there's going to be a hurricane in Philadelphia on our graduation day. Sorry.