ah.. the sweet pitter patter of rain

Well, yesterday was cloudy all day, and in some areas grey clouds covered the sky, even though there didn't seem to be much moisture in the air, it seemed like it would rain. I it made me feel happy and calm. But it did not...
About 4:45 last night I woke up because I needed to visit the pit latrine, but being as that I was sleeping so well, I didn't want to get up, and I fell asleep again till 5. That's when I heard a strange noise, and then all of the sudden there is the pitter patter of rain on the roof. Now, it never fails especially during the rainy season, that when it rains in the middle of the night, I always have to get up and pee. This is especially true if there is a downpour, of which I must go out in the middle of it. But at least our pit area is covered.
Of course, because I had to get up from my wonderful sleep, I couldn't get back to the sweet sleeping place I was before, and lay there thinking, tossing and turning.
This morning I was thinking about a blog I read that was talking about all these "crazy" things that happen here, and how they have become normal, and how I am myself somewhat complacent. And as I was later flipping through a magazine, with adventure advertisements in the back, I felt that sudden urge to move or experience something new again. And it got me thinking about how things here are normal to me now, and our existence here is very comfortable for us. But also how, even though we are living what some may consider exotic, or weird lives here, we are more restricted in our ability to travel and experience things that in America you can just get up and go do. Like camping, hiking, etc., There are many reasons why we can't do here, and in some ways I feel more restricted in that. I know this must sound confusing, but continuing on..Several factors I think contribute to this feeling; and of course the main two are time and money: because we are only here two years, and are likely to never come back again, we don't' feel we have the luxury to travel away from home as we normally did in the states., money: because of our limited income now, and no gains in the markets, and no deposits being made to our banks accounts now, we don't have the money to travel very far, and traveling within Africa is expensive if you want to fly and very difficult to find flights, though it is easier on the pocketbook to travel over land it is often difficult with the bureaucracy, police checkpoints, danger areas, long travel times, and not completely safe transportation... so this is probably the way we will go when we do! hehe.
In short, be thankful for the ability in America to travel down any road any time, and, (as long as your obeying the speed limit!) not have to be stopped or pay bribes etc. You can cross from state to state with nothing more than a welcome sign and a visitors center to stop at, if you want. And a crossing of the state boundaries can lead to experiences and sights and people that could be very different from what you normally experience in your hometown.
But, to keep my feet on the ground, and to not let myself be led down the path of many foreigners think of America as this great golden land, I have to remind myself that even though you can cross those state lines easily and experience change, there will also be the walmarts, cvs drugstore, target shopping centers where you know things will be in the exact place as they are in the store in your hometown. The monotony of it is somewhat sad, though highly convenient!

Well, that's enough of that. Not much going on this weekend, Andy was going to go on a trip upcountry this weekend, but it didn't work out. But I know there are a lot of things around here that we could do, along with our normal requirement of hanging out on our front porch like to old country bumpkins.