African lightening through African rain

I spent this evening's thunderstorms dancing to Cuban music with friends Carlos and Victor (de Peru), Milan i Vladan (iz Bosna), and a happy assortment of others at an ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) party in Sinkor, Monrovia.

The rains have been "heavy" in the evenings for the past few weeks - but it was hot enough tonight that the showers were welcome. What never ceases to amaze me about these Liberian storms, is the intensity of the lightening. Twice in three months I've awoken in the "small, small" hours of the night to booming thunderstorms - but not because of the thunder. Rather, the lightening flash has shown so brightly in my room that I've thought the lights were switched on (which, incidentally, is entirely impossible because we don't have power between 2-7 in the morning).

I've always loved lightening storms.

Perhaps I was acutely appreciative of a gorgeous Saturday night because the day, 'til that point, had been a long one. Morning began at six with a run round the Embassy, up Benson street and back through Mamba Point on UN Drive; I met my friend Joe (student at University of Liberia studying business management) for a jog. Per usual, the smog/humidity ensured that breathing/ gasping was a challenge.

The rest of the morning and most of afternoon was spent at NACP for the final day of the training on the new "Integrated Guidelines for Prevention, Care and Treatment of HIV/AIDS." The training, overall, was a success; representatives from hospitals throughout the country seemed enthused about the material and likely to share the material in their home institutions. We'll see.

Participating in this training was particularly useful for me because it offered insight into workshop "dos and don'ts" that I can hopefully apply during the December trainings for the Procurement and Supply Chain Standard Operating Procedure (PSM SOP). The workday was a preview of the magnitude of the preparations required in the coming weeks...