The rain has been coming down non-stop for the past three days. I'm not complaining, though. I'm finally able to wear long sleaves, and sleep under my thicker blanket. It's been really nice to feel cold again. Although, our basketball practice has taken a hit since the rains came back full force.

Down at the basketball court we've installed the new basketball rims that my parents mailed over. They're looking really sharp. I'd show you pictures, but I've lost them (more on that in a bit). Our court is hands-down the best court in all of Zanzibar. We're also still waiting for the final match of the Pemba-wide tournament to take place. It was scheduled for the 2nd of June, but the government rescheduled and we still haven't heard when it will take place. Hopefully soon because at the end of the month I'm heading to Dar es Salaam to finish my Peace Corps service, and I don't want to miss the match.

As I mentioned before my pictures have gone missing. Early last week some punk broke through my back door during the Brazil World Cup match (between 9pm and 11pm here) and rifled through all of my stuff in search of money. Luckily, that's what I use the bank for, so he didn't get any, but he did manage to five-finger my precious laptop. The laptop itself is replaceable, but the information I had saved in there - the pictures, movies, and work - is not. I filed a police report, and we've since installed a metal gate on the back door, but no word on the whereabouts of my little MSI netbook...

To install the door we had to knock out some of the wall, so I had a local construction worker come by and fix up all of the little cracks and loose concrete inside and outside the house. It's looking good. Next weekend's project will be to repaint the house. Take care.

-- Mike