Have you ever seen the rain?

I experienced my first Suriname rain on Monday. Some of the teachers had gone for a hamburger and we were sitting there and we heard this incredible crack. It turned out to be thunder with a bit of lightening. We decided to head back to school and we beat the rain by like two mins. But I stood and watched it out my classroom window. For about an hour it literally danced off the roof and the playground. It rains hard here. And my favourite part, it was still bright and light the entire time. And it cooled us down. It was wonderful.

There is something about rain that I love, the way it washes everything away. It seems to be a new start; a fresh beginning. It was kind of a reminder that this is my life is different now. A rain storm for my new life in Suriname. Something to wash away the North American-ness and remind me that currently I live in a small, hot country on the equator. And that I have to adapt to this culture.

Life here is really different, but I like it. It's slower, no one is in a hurry; even school doesn't start on time. Church is amazing. I went to a different church on Sunday, it was English and I loved it. It was hot, the fans worked overtime to keep the breeze going. It's above the pastor's house and it's tiny but the people were so friendly. By the end they knew my name, my occupation and so much more. I felt very welcome.

School is going well. I've read the Paper Bag Princess about a hundred times. We have a fondness for Dr. Seuss and I can tell you that I do not like Green Eggs and Ham! Here, there or anywhere.

My lack of cooking is legendary and so far I've blown up the toaster twice. I'm not allowed to make toast anymore or plug anything in! But both of my room mates have wicked senses of humour and are unphased by things like no power or water!