When it Rains, it Pours

Being a native Oregonian, I have always loved the rain. It is the perfect state for weather to be in because in the summer it keeps things from being too hot and in the winter it keeps things from being too cold. I also just love the gloomy sky and the self reflective mood that it puts me in. So because of my love for the rain it was no surprise to me that at the sight of it here in smoggy, humid, hot China that I would be thrilled. Everyday it rains brings me joy. I never thought I would be so happy at the sight of wearing pants in the summertime. It has been raining a lot here this summer, even more than it has back home in Oregon.
Although I am glad to see the rain, not many people share this feeling with me. One reason is because the rain here is a bit harder than in Oregon and in larger amounts which makes life difficult for a place with no drainage system. In Beijing as I'm sure many of you heard back in the states, there was massive flooding in the city and over 100 people died as a result of the flooding and other causes connected with it. Back here at SFCV, we had some flooding problems of our own as our laundry room flooded and a storage room which was filled with 10 new refrigerators had almost 2ft. of water in it. Along with that the river across the street rose to ground level and filled the streets with large puddles of water. We were all fine here thankfully and now things have been able to dry out for the most part, even though we have still had some rainy days here and there.
The greatest part about the rain here in China and the part I as an Oregonian do not understand is that when it rains all scheduled events cease. You would think it is like acid rain here the way the they break out the umbrellas for one drop of rain. Or how school gets cancelled if the rain is too hard, and most sickness here is blamed on the rain. If these people lived in Oregon they wouldn't get anything done. Just another one of those cultural things that I will never understand but am content in just going with it.
Posted by Mari