Rainy season

Picture of Erick and Ludis, two of my students.

The heat in Managua is oppressive. Walking up the hill next to the centro past the garbage-sewage ditch at noon to go home for lunch, I feel like the sun is burning the hairs off of my head and melting me from the inside out. My legs inside my jeans are bathed in sweat within seconds of leaving the air conditioned office. This week, the heat broke. I woke up on Tuesday to a cloudy and threatening sky. Instead of the sun beginning to bake the earth at 8am, there was a cool breeze. Later on, the cool breeze disintegrated into a swampy humid heat like Florida summers. I had class at 2pm, probably the hottest time of day, and all of my students were sweating and lethargic. Since we were learning about animals, I decided to start a game of duck duck goose outside on the patio. As we sat down in a circle, a few drops of rain began to fall. We played a number of rounds of the game, and the clouds broke, letting out a sweet deluge. My students ran for cover in the classroom (but played enough duck duck goose to never forget how to say duck or goose!!). A group of kids played soccer on the concrete playground in the rain, as it continued for at least an hour. Although it felt great getting wet, it resulted only in thickening the air even further, so I felt like I was breathing pure water. Welcome Nicaraguan winter!