The moto taxi stand outside of Hammer's house, taken this morning at 7:30. Never have I ever seen it totally abandoned during the day. The taxi drivers obviously know much more than I do about the way the rhythm of life changes due to the rain.
This morning, the last school day before Spring Break, was supposed to be a fun one. School was in session, but, of course, Fridays are half days. Moreover, all of the students have recently taken their regional exams--Tuesday through Friday of last week for the Middle School; Thursday of last week through Wednesday of this week for the Elementary School--so they are ready for a break from study. Yesterday there were soccer matches all morning, and that program was going to be repeated today. With a slight difference: the teachers would play against students. There would be music; the results of the exams would be announced; and then all would be dismissed for the break.
One of the teachers asked me if I was going to play in the soccer match. Obviously he doesn't know my history as the most unathletic person on earth. I promised to be a strong supporter. Since the teachers told the children to arrive at school at 6:20 a.m. so the game could start at 6:30 (although Tata told me later that she planned to arrive at 6:45), I made sure to go to bed early and reminded myself before I fell asleep that I could not dawdle in the morning.
Not long after I woke up this morning at 5:30, it started to rain. For about fifteen minutes I moved at a snail's pace, figuring that they surely would not play soccer in the rain. But then I thought of everyone arriving early at school and forced myself to move faster. Still, I only managed to be a half-hour earlier than usual, arriving at Hammer's at 6:30. The boys had not left for school yet. Sena told me they would be leaving at 7:30.
At 7:30, we headed out, Sena, Emma, and I. It was still raining, but it had settled into a nice, steady rainfall rather than the downpour it had been. The road to the school had puddles, some of them large, but there was solid ground showing all the way. I didn't have to ford a stream, as I had had to do Wednesday. We arrived at school to discover that no one was there. Not a single person. The boys told me that we should wait "un peu." I agreed to that, specifying that "un peu" for me was about 5 minutes. We were, after all, more than an hour later than we had planned.
After the five minutes had expired, we began the return trip toward the house. Emma wanted to stop and by bread on the way, which we did. That gave us time to encounter two small groups of children who were making their way to the school. I told the boys that I was not turning around, so we continued home. They told me that people would go to school at 9. I promised to consider that, but when I got back to my house, I went ahead and brought the car inside the compound.
Sure enough, the rain started really slowing down within the next fifteen minutes. By 9:00 it seemed to have stopped, but I decided to wait a bit to be sure. I could hear more activity in the street--the neighbors talking, people passing by, which seemed to indicate that they thought the day could now begin. I continued to wait, putting off the moment when I would have to get up and deal with the gates. If you've read the post, "Leaving My Compound," you know how I don't like opening and closing them when people are around.
I ended up not going to school, but I heard from Dela that the boys had returned and that the match was probably going on around 10. I sure hope the faculty wins, because I will feel as if it is all my fault if they don't.
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