Q: When Does 3 + 0 = 0?

A: When you've got the following scenario: 3 days + 0 internet = 0 new posts.

Don't we just love the rainy season? No, I didn't forget or get lazy; I got frustrated instead. Due to large volumes of water falling from the sky over the past few days, Cotonou went temporarily wireless. But not the good kind of wireless, like what you find in pricey cafés, but quite the bad kind of wireless, as in, absolutely no internet connection at all. This also meant absolutely no new blogging at all. For this I am very sorry.

For those worried about the lack of communication (aka my parents), don't distress. All is well. Wet maybe, but well. Actually, it's not even that wet. This certainly hasn't been the kind of rain that would knock out power and internet capabilities in many other places I've lived. Nor is it of an intensity that would be foreign to those places either. I guess it's just testament to the fragility of an infrastructure about as flimsy as the woven-reed homes along the beach. Come to think about it, I wonder if they withstood the rain?

Now, normally a few hours without the internet makes me about as happy as a claustrophobe in the metro at rush hour, but I've got so many things that have to be done I hardly had time to notice. With a thesis to write, a language to learn and a city to explore, I some how managed.

Truthfully, I more than managed. Let me just say the pool at the Marina Hotel is a worthy place to swim laps in the morning. And C's been more than helpful in getting me settled by connecting me with a German friend who's involved in a local equestrian club. And now, so am I.

I want to post this message now, just in case this is only the "eye" of the poor-internet-connection storm. If the forces that be keep me connected through the night, expect details soon. Do you think there's a voodoo spirit for telecommunications? Where can I find a talisman?