The Cacophony of Beijing Downpours

Beijing gives an entire new meaning to the saying, " When it rains, it pours"... because in Beijing when it pours, it pours.  And yesterday I got to walk home through one of those 'it pours' moments. During this moment, I had a few things run through my mind:

Oh my goodnes. 

-My god. How does it rain this much? Born and raised in rainy Oregon and this is still absolutely ridiculous. 

-Is this how you hold an umbrella? *looks around inconspicuously to stare at other umbrella holders to make sure I am, in fact, holding the umbrella correctly*

-Does this mean I am going to see the sky tomorrow? Ehhhhhhhhhhh- Probably not. (Spoiler alert: I haven't seen the sky in the last three days, didn't come out today either).

The street to my apartment. 

-If I think the trumpeting of Beijing car horns, scooter horns, and/or bicycle during normal days is bad, this is the absolute worst.

-Never again will I giggle at people who have an affinity for rubber shoes such as crocs, flip flops, etc.  In fact, I will probably invest in some as well because these converse are not equipped for rain like this. 

-Mother of god that woman is wearing a full trash bag as a coat. The ingenuity of Chinese people during rainstorms is fascinating! 

-Oh! A waterfall from the top of the side walk to the bottom! How aesthetically pleasing! Now I have to figure out how to maneuver my way around that without getting hit by a car or being drenched with potentially toxic run-off. 

-I don't even want to know the kind of crap this rainstorm is washing out from the streets. The water is literally black.

- I think the rain may be burning my skin off....Ok, maybe I'm like 85% feeling phantom burning, but I'm pretty sure the other 15% is legit.

- OH MY GOD THIS LAKE WAS CLEVERLY DISGUISED AS A SIMPLE PUDDLE. I then realize all Beijing "puddles" are lies and they are never to be trusted.

- Is this how Noah felt when the flood was coming?

- I don't care if this thing is saving my hair/ skin/ clothes, I still hate umbrellas.

I survived the downpour walk from the subway station back to my apartment, took off my pants, and then my roommate came home and invited me to go get Mexican food AND margaritas. This one time, I put my pants back on.  I'm glad I did because those nachos with sour cream and that passionfruit margarita made my Friday that much better. 

                                       

Small update to the Beijing rain: 

It's pouring again. I lit my Ikea vanilla candles. I'm drinking tea and devouring Game of Thrones. My neighbor is playing piano beautifully next door. This feels like heaven.