Rain... It's the little things

“It’s not about waiting for the storm to pass… It’s about screaming with the thunder, running with the lightning, and learning to dance in the rain”

I don’t know who coined that phrase, but it’s one that I have used many times in my life to both help myself and to pick up others around me. Now, I’m not saying to actually do those things. Thunder and lightning can be terrifying and dangerous, but the idea and sentiment of the quote is one that I fully agree with.

I grew up in a place where it rarely rained. The desert of the United States, New Mexico. Rain is such a rare sight, that when it does rain it covers my Facebook newsfeed. No need to actually look out the window to see the weather, no need to watch the news (although they get it wrong a lot anyways). Rain was always something that was special to me. I always loved the idea of rain, it was just always beyond my reach. The only thing I seemed to know about rain was that it turned already awful New Mexico drivers into even more dangerous ones, and no one wanted to be out driving in those conditions, when it was even a faint drizzle.

My favorite memory of rain was on a trip to Washington D.C. with my youth group. We were staying at a “youth hostel”—really just a hotel for traveling groups. There was a rec room and TVs in the rooms- I mean what could be better than that? We were assigned to stay in the rec room and write a reflection journal about our travels that day when another group (a 4H group) came in to announce it was raining. My girls and I quickly abandoned our journals on the chairs we were sitting in and ran outside. We literally danced in the rain, laughing, splashing, and enjoying our moment. We had grown up together, and knowing we were all going our separate ways was difficult to take sometimes. The rain splashed on our skin and clothes, my glasses were a wreck, but the water was warm (although hard). We got back inside and had to explain to our youth leaders why we hadn’t followed their instructions. We finished writing our reflections and headed up to bed, soaked to the bone. That was more than 5 years ago, but I can still feel the rain and the memories. Rain brought happiness to us that evening.

Coming to Ethiopia, rain was a luxury for me that many others in my group were already tired of. We have quite a few West coast people, who all roll their eyes when I get excited about rain. I had to go buy a raincoat and umbrella for this trip because I didn’t own one back home. We arrived in country in the middle of rainy season. We learned to bring our raincoats to practicum, because it would rain on the way home. We learned to wear our Chacos to morning language sessions and change into hiking boots when we went home for lunch. We learned exactly what rain can do to already inconsistent power and cell network—cuts out for hours. We learned that dirt roads turn into sloppy rivers where the only way to cross is getting knee deep in mud. We learned that falling asleep to rain on a tin roof is just as difficult as sleeping through Mosques and churches at 4:30am.

But enough about rain—“rain is a good thing” as many country songs remind us. Wherever in the world you are, rain holds may different things. It can be great for places where water is rare; it can be awful for places that are filled to the brim with water already. Everything is great in moderation, and the idea of water falling from the sky is no different. Depending when, where, and who you go and talk to, “Gods tears” can be blessings or curses.

The idea of the “dance in the rain” quote however has nothing to actually do with rain; it has everything to do with perspective. Perspective on life and on what is happening. Rain can be looked at as bad, but if you decide to make it a good thing, it can be. Remembering that you have the power to change something into something else through your outlook is what the power of rain really has. You can’t change that is raining, but you can change how rain affects your life.

I always tell people, “It’s the little things”. Even back home, I would remind people of that. It can be difficult to remember why you are doing something, what brings you joy, or what good there is in the world when everything seems to be falling apart. Difficult days, difficult times, and hard situations: those are the moments when you just want to curl up in a ball and forget everything. Ice cream, chocolate, wine, a new pair of shoes, a hug from a friend or pet, a favorite movie, and a song to jam out to—those are things that we as humans crave when times get bad.

Over here, the little things can really be the big things. When times get tough, we don’t have all of those escape methods we did back home. We have some outlets, but not that many. Our little annoyances turn into our big monsters in the room. The things we normally find obnoxious or hard to handle can turn everything one day into the worst day. We find ourselves out of patience, questioning our life decisions, and wondering what joy we find here and why in the world we are still in Ethiopia. Those moments come pretty regularly, which can be even worse to realize. You get annoyed, you realize how often you feel this way, and you get more annoyed—it’s a vicious cycle and one that can often be too hard to handle.

My best friend and I were having a week. Nothing seemed to be going right, our lives seemed to be falling apart around us, and yet we were still here. We began to text each other “the little things”. Things that might seem insignificant to people back home, but to us over here they are all too real. These little things that help us remember why we continue to get out of bed over here, why we aren’t back home, why we smile so often, and why this is a helpful experience- even when extremely difficult.

“It’s the little things” are those moments and memories that are tiny, and yet help us remember to dance in the rain. The rain may cut out power and network, it might flood our roads to home, it might cancel flights and ruin crops. But it also smells great, helps grow crops, brings down dust, and cools things down. Everything is about perspective, from little moments to rain, everything teaches us something whether we realize it or not.

-Teaching guard to read and write English

-Kid tells me he doesn’t want 62% again but a 90 this semester

-Eating meal with students

-Twirling my kids

-Good fuul

-Curling up with cocoa and a book

-Letters

-Camels

-Jebena buna

-Packages

-Water

-Tan lines

-Inside jokes

-Valentines

-Incense

-A cool breeze

-Smelly lotion

-Stuffed animals

-Sincere compliments

-Random texts

-Getting called by your name

-A cold drink

-Inspirational words of wisdom

-Clean clothes

-Fresh juice

-Sugar on popcorn

-Working network and power

-Picture from home

-Hot, fresh injira

-Coloring books

-Open windows on buses

-Bourbon Cremes

-Kids laughing

-Waking up when you want to

-Jamming to good music

-Newly painted nails

-Clean hair

-Western toilets

-Machiattos

-Meat

-A mug of tea

-Working Internet

-Finishing a lesson

-Watching a movie at the exact same time as a friend

-Food from home

-Nutella

-Watching CNN or BBC in the teachers lounge

-Starting on time

-Getting flowers from students

-Crossing things off a to-do list