Rainswept

It rained today for only the second time in six months.  I was driving to the University as the clouds grew ominously dark and the wind picked up, kicking up clouds of dust and reducing visibility to about 200 meters.  Pink and white bougainvillea petals and plastic bags danced across the street and I rolled the window down, even though dust filled the car and sifted onto every surface.  The weather so rarely changes here!  I was like a child, grinning in wonder at my first snowfall.  

Rain is the thing I miss the most.  I like it here.  I like the warm weather, the people, the food, the scenery, the mosques and the accompanying calls to prayer, the pace of life, the University.  But sometimes I just long for a good rainstorm, for that intoxicating smell that refreshes me like nothing else can, for the gusts of wind and cold first drops on the dusty ground, and for that clear, rain swept look once the storm has passed. 

I didn't have my camera with me, so I snapped a few pictures at the University with my phone, but I got home early than expected and there was still a little light, though the sun was gone.  I took this picture from the roof of my house, looking at the neighbor's car.