grace.kindness.peace.disruption.pain.processing.rinse.repeat.have a nice day.

Thank you all for your patience. Life here in Freetown is moving quickly. Our routine has greased the skids for the weeks to fly by. This does not mean, however, that the day to day is anything but good. Today is a Muslim holiday observed as a national holiday, which one I don't know nor does anyone else that I've asked (although I've yet to see or ask a Muslim … they're on holiday). What this means is that the streets are practically empty and the pace of life is slower. For example, shops and street vendors did not start their business until after noon.

It rained last night – the second rain in less than a week. To use a cliche, when it rains, it pours. A few nights ago a thunderstorm came off the Atlantic and drenched us with over an hour of hard rain. I'm told that this is but the beginning of the rainy season. When it comes with full force, the hard rain will last up to seven hours. The benefit of such rain to those who are accustomed to a more temperate climate is that the temperature drops several degrees after the rain. However, if the sun comes out, the ground water will quickly become a sticky humidity for all to enjoy. Thankfully, today has been somewhat overcast and the cool weather has remained. Overall, the weather has been very nice for us here. The heat has at no time been unbearable and the temperature should only get cooler until we leave in June.