Beckteria

Para Para

I know that a lot of people don’t like the rain, but today I’m loving it. As I was walking to and from the bus stop under my very pink umbrella, the entire world seemed so peaceful and still. Para para—the rain slowly and steadily drops from the sky.

I thought of how in the U.S. I didn’t even own an umbrella. It seemed so strange to me. I have 7 (7!!!) umbrellas here. How could I live without one in the U.S. I wondered. I realized that when it rains back home, I just make a mad dash for the car. So, in other words, I’m never outside for that long unless I want to be. Here, I must deal with the elements of nature.

It’s a 10-15 minute walk to the station from my apartment, I would get soaked without any of my trusty umbrellas. In fact, I almost always have a compact umbrella with me just in case it rains. I was caught without one in Kyoto and I was soaked to the bone. It was actually rather exhilarating except I was on my way to a museum to look at priceless works of are. That wasn’t too cool. And I was cold as hell when I was in the museum at the height of summer.

I have both my sliding glass doors open. The rain is tapping away so calmly. It’s so relaxing. Even walking home under the dome of the pink overhang was serene. Watching the world take a bath has I went unscathed walking steadily home at an Osakan pace. (BTW The average Osakan walks 1.6 meters per second. I guess that’s the fastest in the world. Why do they teach us such things?)

posted by Bex @ 8:00 AM