It occurred to me a few weeks ago that I almost never talk about the weather here. Granted it's not always the most exciting topic of conversation, and Lord knows the British seem obsessed by it, but things are a little different here. For starters, they have 6 seasons and not the usual Northern 4, and this is of course due to the monsoon season that will soon be upon us. That's not to say it's not already very humid and wet, as it most definitely is! The difference between now and the monsoon season proper is that the rains at the moment are not as predictable as the standard afternoon downpour we'll have every day in June and July.

Before coming here I really thought I'd seen big rain. You know, serious heavy rain storms that seem to dump an astonishing amount of water in sometimes quite a short period of time. How wrong can you be?! In a matter of hours here, sometimes minutes, you can have wide scale flooding, impassable roads and even 2 foot of water that seeps into all but the highest of vehicles as they sit in the inevitable traffic jams that persist until the water can slowly drain away. The change in temperature is also very abrupt. One of the VSO vehicles has a temperature gauge and during one storm the reading went from 40 degrees just before to around 21 degrees in 30 minutes! You can really feel the storm coming too as slowly but surely a wind starts gusting and the sky darkens. There's a definite "force of nature" feel to it all that makes you feel quite insignificant in comparison, and sends me back to what ancient peoples used to see as evidence of the God's displeasure. If you believe in that sort of thing then the Gods have been mighty pissed off this past week or so!

Now you might think that these storms will only really affect you if you're caught in one while outside or in traffic trying to get somewhere. This is certainly true, but because the tell-tale signs of the wind and dark sky usually give you up to an hour's warning of the sky's impending wrath most people have already changed their plans to take account of how conditions are likely to be. As a result, when the big rain comes the streets are usually pretty empty and the street-sellers have all their goods either inside, under plastic covers and/or strapped to something sturdy. One time I was in a rickshaw after work trying to get home before the heavens opened (which I did) and everywhere in the streets you could see shopkeepers getting ready and groups of men outside mosques staring silently at the sky. I was quiet eerie actually, a genuine quiet before the storm.

Even if you're working in an office built to resist the elements all is not necessarily well. Most storms come with a lot of lightning, and this can take out the power supply with surprising regularity and ease. One time I was looking out the window to watch a storm and I actually saw a bolt of lightning strike and the local power grid fail a fraction of a second later. I know nothing about these things but it would seem that things are generally not well earthed here to deal with lightning strikes without overloading power lines and the like. The good news is I suppose that the trip switches are at least working and that these power surges are not blowing up electrical equipment in homes and factories. It's not ideal though is it, having the power go every time there's a big storm i.e. 2-3 times a week?! This very week I was in the middle of giving some training on how to use PowerPoint to a NGO when a storm broke. After closing the windows to stop them flapping until they broke the power went and we were left in virtual darkness until a few rechargeable lanterns appeared around the room. Fortunately by that point we'd finished the computer-based exercises and I was able to start a discussion about what made a good presentation i.e. just because you know how to make everything on a PowerPoint slide move that doesn't mean you have to.

This wasn't the only external disruption to my working week either. Yet another leading opposition politician was shot dead not far from his house this week on Tuesday so a general strike was called Wednesday. I'd planned on giving my final presentation to Tarango about the numerous ills of its micro-credit programme but had to reschedule to Thursday as a result. Both of our offices were open and all the relevant people were working, but it was deemed unsafe for us to travel to their office from VSO as the area is usually a volatile one on these occasions. Fortunately where I live and work is generally very calm, and in fact most businesses were open anyway. It would appear that the call for a general strike has been overused as a political weapon and people are either too tired or too in need of earning a living to follow anymore. I can't say I blame them, but the way opposition politicians are being attacked is just a tad worrying. I play 5-a-side football with an guy who's assistant editor at the main English language newspaper here and he reckons that we're going to reach some sort of tipping point in the next 18 months or so. I agree, and I have to say that it looks more likely to be a turn for the considerable worst than the better i.e. a military coup or some other dictatorial situation. Suddenly the inconvenience of a major storm doesn't seem so bad.