"It was lovely indeed to sit in a Monday afternoon faculty meeting and listen to that all-too-familiar sound of the rain hitting the tin roof. It drowned out the droning voices and the circulating ceiling fans in that florescent-lighted classroom. By the time it all ended, the streets were flooded with brown water snaking through the city in swollen rivers." (This was taken from my balcony. Click to enlarge.)
Yesterday, unexpectedly, the first rain in three months hit this city Somewhere in Asia. The monsoon season hasn't yet arrived, but the hot season is upon us. So, it was lovely indeed to sit in a Monday afternoon faculty meeting and listen to that all-too-familiar sound of the rain hitting the tin roof. It drowned out the droning voices and the circulating ceiling fans in that florescent-lighted classroom.
By the time it all ended, the streets were flooded with brown water snaking through the city in swollen rivers. My driver UT and I tried to traverse a few streets that were blocked by stranded cars and motorists up to their waists in water. Fortunately, he knows all the back roads and we were able to make it through without stalling, even though the water was almost up to the hood of my (gasp!) SUV. I had to pat the dashboard of that trusty 1988 Toyota, thanking it for being such a dependable vehicle.
The bonus to our river-crossing adventure? While stuck in traffic on a 
dry road, I was able to jump out to get this photo image (click to enlarge) of a shiny collection of hubcaps for sale at a tire shop. Men chewing beetle nut on low stools at the local teashop laughed at the foreigner taking pictures of automobile parts. The whole experience reminded me of another experience I recently had. The rain subsided, and the sun came out but an hour later, and the heat and humidity has returned.
We have a month or so to wait for the coming monsoon. Until then, we’ll all try to experience as much as we can of the outdoors because once the monsoon hits, so many of us stay inside like squirrels in a burrow. The sound of the constant, steady downpour is comforting to those of us holed up. Thank the stars for the coming monsoon season; it makes people like me with a cyclical proclivity towards being a hermit feel…. well…. a little bit more normal.
Well chica, better you than me!!! :) I am happy to report that Holland has been going through a dry spell as it hasn't rained in 48 hours.
Let's hope that our summer studies are filled with drier days than the monsoon days of what you are experiencing.
Posted by: Opposite Weather | Wednesday, 16 March 2005 at 06:41 AM