Rainy days

Thunderhead clouds are not uncommon in Northern Haiti. This week we had a couple inches of rain from tropical storm Noel but not much wind.

Most schools were closed Monday and Tuesday from the rain and Haitian government closed the schools on Wednesday because Noel was still in the area. The first and second of November are Haitian national holidays so the children didn't get much school work done this week. At Cowman International school it was business as usual.

On LaGonave when it happened to rain during the day, life pretty much shut down. Meetings were assumed canceled, clinics were sparsely attended, markets shut down making it hard to buy anything and hardly anyone traveled by road. No one by ship.

We had assumed with the frequent rains in the North that people would conduct business as usual. When Cory was in Brazil the people would grab an umbrella or jacket and do what they had planned to do-much as most Americans would. But that assumption was wrong. There are a few more people out walking in a light rain but the schools are closed, and few come to clinic.

A smart charcoal seller will cover his charcoal with something water proof as the price of dry charcoal during or after a rain can double. Most open back trucks carry a large piece of tarp to cover the cargo and passengers during rainstorms.

The picture was taken about a half hour drive from our house. We visited on a Sunday between visiting Churches. Some sunny Saturday we hope to return and try out the water.