It rained here today.

Mariam and I awoke to a thunderstorm this morning! It was not raining, but thunder rumbled though breakfast. Then the rain hit, just a little at first. Just enough rain to make all the dust clump up causing everything to look dirtier. I have seen this happen once before here. It was not very refreshing.

Last time I was talking to my dad on the phone, and I had the big news, "IT SPRINKLED HERE!" he seemed surprised that this was such an odd event. Here are the numbers: December is second to January in precipitation in Jeddah. We get an average of 0.47 inches of rain here this month, January gets 0.55. Yearly we get 2.11 inches of water, you guys in Minnesota get almost 30. I live in the dessert, rain is rare. My dad asked how all the trees, plants and grass they keep get water. The solution, big trucks come around at night and spray all the medians filled with palm trees and blooming flowers every once in a while.

Anyway. The rain kept coming at a sprinkle to a slow pitter-patter. It continued for about an hour and a half. Mike texted me that the school was closing due to the rain and that he would be home early! I went out and took a few photos of our street. Jeddah doesn't bother to have storm sewers or gutters, everything just floods instead. The ground floor of our building is the parking lot, I see a lot of apartments set up like this and the rain must be why.

Last year it rained here for six hours straight. The water filled everything up and people probably thought the world was ending. A lot of the first graders Mike teaches are afraid of rain now because of last year. One little boy was asking, "Teacher, HOW!? HOW IS THE SUN NOT OUT! HOW IS THE SUN DOWN! WHY!!!?? WHY MUST IT RAIN!" Parents showed up early in a panic to get their children and kids were screaming to call their drivers to come get them. It was like a snowstorm in Texas or something.

Shortly after he texted me about the school closing, the rain stopped. The sun came out, and Jeddah returned to normal. 91 degrees and sunny in December.