It is Raining Cats and Dogs

As my basico students are learning hyperboles, alliterations and idioms in English class, one example comes to mind that couldn't be more appropriate. It has been raining cats and dogs. It has been raining consistently for about two weeks and once again today we don't have school. (I'm not complaining about the latter though). The road out of Panajachel is impassable still and is covered with mud and landslides. The ground is completely saturated and forces the water to invade Guatemalan homes, our school and the severely eroded riverbed. People are staying home to avoid getting trapped in any of the imminent landslides around the country. I always forget how much power is held by water.

I have come to the realization that I am allergic to whatever kind of mold grows here in tropical Guatemala. Unfortunately for me and my nose, all of this rain has created the perfect environment for my little mold friends. Everything is a little damp and refuses to dry! Currently, three of my six pairs of shoes, toothbrush handle, bags, mattress, tea bags, food and inside the house walls are all covered in mold. Damp underwear anyone? My favorite.

Last year when Hurricane Agatha hit Guatemala, there was a lot of damage and many lives lost. Here in Pana, the water knocked out multiple bridges and took many homes away in the river. Not surprisingly, this destruction was not shown in US media. However, as soon as a "so big, so round it doesn't look real" sinkhole formed in Guatemala City, it made front page news in National Geographic, ABC News, Huffington Post and so on. (My favorite quote above was published in the Christian Science Monitor) I have attached a picture below of the 30-story deep sinkhole. Let's hope the rain stops before the ground collapses again in sinkhole form--even though it would be perfect, real life footage for the next 2012:End of the World movie.



This weather almost competes with a Midwest winter; you can't really do anything outside, you are cold and the sun hasn't showed itself in way too long. I would at least like to enjoy Mother Nature's gifts by being able to go sledding right now. But alas, we get wet clothes and streets filled with stray dog poop because they don't want to venture to far from the verandahs either.

I'm sinnginnnng in the rainn, just singinnn in the rain