Memory of a Thunderstorm

"I get my best ideas in a thunderstorm. I have the power and majesty of nature on my side."
--Ralph Steadman

It rained in Antofagasta this week, and all along the desert coast of the Norte Grande.  The city was thrown into a state of havoc, as it is neither accustomed nor prepared to handle any amount of rain.  My fellow volunteers had their classes canceled as all the schools were shut down for fear of mudslides and flooding.  Lorna, my British friend, told me her classroom took water and ruined her "useful words" posters.  Ximena, my host mom, explained to me after that almost none of the houses in this region have roofs that are sealed, those that even have roofs and not simply tin sheets laid over each other or, worse yet, simple tarps.  She spoke of how during the one time that it rained in Calama long enough to produce a noticeable effect, our kitchen had leaked.  She then proceeded to show me the still extant damage to the molding near the ceiling.  The news the day after explained how hundreds of people had to sleep in the schools because the insides of their houses had been soaked.  Two days later, they are still cleaning up the damage.
However, it did not even become cloudy in Calama that day.  I fell asleep in the silence that night imaging what it would be like to hear the soft drumming of raindrops on the window.  I dreamt of storms.

Brisbane, post-storm.

I remember sitting on the second story balcony of a corner pub in Brisbane as a storm slowly rolled in from the distance; the deep guttural growl of thunder preceding as the bright afternoon sky turned a surreal gray.  I could smell the water in the air before it came; rain that began softly, growing with the thunder claps into a rush that obscured the world outside.  The rhythm of the rain drops pattering on the roof, crashing against the pavement of the street and the soft hiss that seems a sort of silence itself enveloped me.  The storm didn’t last long, and it dissipated as quickly as the sun sinks into the ocean on a summer’s evening