Water, water everywhere

The four seasons in Rwanda aren't spring, summer, fall and winter; they're the small rainy season, the small dry season, the big rainy season and the big dry season. I was confused several months ago when someone first tried to explain the difference between two rainy seasons to me. The rains that last longer than four months, from the beginning of September through December, are considered the small rains, while the rains that last only a month in March or April are the big rains. I obviously didn't understand the difference between "long" and "big." Now I do. The rains are "big" because of the incredible quantity of water that pours from the sky.

What I don't understand now is the small dry season that was supposed to separate the small rains from the big rains. I think it may have lasted about a week in January, but I'm not sure. Regardless, it is now definitely the big rainy season. At least once a day, the skies grow as dark as night as black clouds roll in over the hills. The thunder and lightening follow just afterwards, before the clouds burst open and pour down water like a river. Sometimes the rains last just a few hours, but, more often than not, they last the whole day or the whole evening or the whole night.

My Rwandan coworkers tell me it hasn't rained this much in eight years. Back in those days, the rains were so hard that there was never any water in the city. As ironic as that may sound, I have no trouble understanding this point. The pipes used to bring water into the city weren't strong enough to withstand the added water pressure or the erosion, so they frequently burst and left the city without water.

Unfortunately though, it seems the pipes may not be any better now. It's been over two weeks since I've had water on a consistent basis. Every time I turn the handle on the sink, it's like a game of roulette. The majority of the time nothing happens. Sometimes, though, water actually does come from the faucet. On those occasions, it's like winning the lottery. I take a shower and brush my teeth and then fill as many containers as possible - jerry cans to flush the toilet, pots to boil for cooking and drinking, buckets for bathing. Then I hope that water will just last until the next time the plumbing works.

I think I'm beginning to understand what Coleridge meant when he wrote, "water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink." The rains continue to pour, but unfortunately, the faucet does not.