The matter of rain...

Another day that began with sunshine . . . driving soccer games in dry fields on the way into work this morning, but by 1pm it was raining buckets. I think at this point 3 of the 10 heaviest rains I've experienced in the last 31 years have been here in the last 3 weeks. There can be great comfort in solid concrete construction during a downpour.

Moments before I took the rainy picture below (from my office window), a half-dozen 8-12 year old boys ran full-tilt down the sidewalk, completely naked, and obviously having a great time. I think it's the first time I've been in a capital city where children run naked in the streets, and with such glee!

In fact, I am steadily backing away from my early sense of the similarities between Liberia and Latin American countries that I have visited. The level of poverty and subsistence-level need here in Monrovia is, if anything, even higher than it first appears. Only a tiny percentage of the urban population has running water or electricity in their homes. A great number of Liberians live in and out of a variety of make-shift structures that may include some corrugated roofing, some woven-reed panel walls, some frame-construction. In comparison, it does make an only-slightly-leaky and unplumbed concrete building feel mighty secure and cozy.