The Wind

Strong gusts of wind wake me up. The creaking and groaning of my tin roof causes me to grab my sheets tightly, I fear that I might blow away. I hear the metal gate outside the door suddenly slam into the electrical box that is on the outside wall and I hope that it does not get damaged before I actually get electricity. The winds will last from September to the end of November. I grew up with tornados and I went to college in the mid-west where the winds are very strong, but this is somehow different. The dust swirls in the wind and gets in my eyes; the sand is deep on the roads. Riding my bicycle is difficult, it is as if I am riding on one of those run-off ramps for semi trucks on steep declines; at some points I must get off and push the bicycle. Riding into the wind makes it seem like I am barely moving, but the ride back is amazingly fast!
Through an embarrassing experience, I have learned which skirts I can wear and which ones I cannot wear. I was walking from the Public Health office to the hospital and a sudden gust of wind came and blew my skirt up and away. One of the on lookers said (in Chitumbuka) to my friend that I needed a chitenje (a wrap around piece of material that all the women here wear). I personally do not like wearing a chitenje over a skirt; it is too much; so, I will just keep to my longer skirts during this windy season.