Why can't it rain in Niger?

It's raining here. Again. After a week-plus of 42-degree temperature, we are back to 20-degree temperatures and rain. What I don't understand is why is it raining here again? We have had more than enough rain this summer - so much so that the Danube flooded in places. But in Niger there is no rain and as such too many people are starving to death every day. I don't understand exactly how the universe works sometimes. Sure, I believe in my own version of "God." But at times like this, I really wonder.


Check out Niko's blog
Recently, Niko abandoned those of us who rely on his musings for our daily sustenance. He had the nerve to go to San Francisco for a week! Well, he is back (thank goodness!) and his recent posts are worth a shout-out. If you haven't seen them since he abandoned us on July 20 (!!), check them out. I am particularly happy to learn about the latest East Coast/West Coast rap rivalry since the deaths of Tupac and Biggie. And anytime someone can give out stats that confirm what I already suspected about Texas - that it is the cradle of polluting, gun-toting, under-educated, over-fed drunkards - I am sure to feel superior for at least a few minutes. Of course, then I am reminded that our president hails from this territory and I realize I have nothing to feel superior about. My guy lost.

My Peter
WARNING: I am about to gush a little bit about Peter. So if this kind of thing makes you a little sick, well, it's time to stop reading!
I cannot believe I am leaving one week from tomorrow. It is just now starting to sink in that I am going back but Peter is staying here. This fact alone makes me want to stay. Since we started dating last October, the only nights we haven't slept in the same bed were the nights when we were not in the same time zone (and one night before one of my early morning finals)! This is one of the things I love so much about Peter, his ability to spend a lot of time with me and still maintain his sense of self. So, leaving is going to be brutal. I have already warned my girls that they are going to be on duty for the first few days when I return home because surely I am going to be a wreck. Here is some of what I will miss:
*Peter making my breakfast before I wake up and leaving it for me on the kitchen counter
*Peter bringing his bowl of cereal into bed while I am still sleeping and tickling my back while he eats
*Peter tickling my back pretty much whenever I ask (and Peter ridiculing me for my "mono-mania")
*Making Peter's dinner. Shocking, I know...But I actually have discovered how nice it feels to prepare and create an ordinary meal for someone you love
*Sitting in the passenger seat while Peter careens around Budapest in his loaner car listening to SLAGER RADIO (shlog-air rahdio)
*Grocery shopping together in as many markets as we need to in order to find the right cereal, the best tomatoes, good fruit and decent bottled water
*Our weekly out-to-dinner dates
*Our go-to-sleep ritual
*Watching American movies that have been dubbed into Hungarian and having Peter translate

Of course there is much more I will miss that cannot even be put into words (or shouldn't be!). Many people have asked me, "What's going to happen with you and Peter when you leave?" The truth is, I don't know. We don't know. I want to say we are going to try to make it work but as I have learned before (as the wise Yoda taught young Luke), "There is no try, only do" (or something like that. You get the point). So I will say that we are going to stay together and see how it feels and see where it takes us. We are hopeful (though I think he is a bit more optimistic than I am!). As Peter says, we have made it this far against all odds and that has to bode well for us. So, we'll see.