It's Raining, It's Pouring, I'm Drenched

Right now, it's raining, it's pouring and I'm still a little chilly from being drenched. About 10 minutes today of solid laughing as I was bombarded with rain twice today.

First time - Lunch
I went out to eat with Hayes, as I usually do on Tuesdays. We went first to get some pants altered since we both are loosing some weight and it looks like I stole a fat lady's pants. Oh yeah, I was that fat lady, still not skinny but not as fat and much more economical to have things altered. Also, heading home to Chicago in December. Not quite Brasilia type clothing available then.

After we met our new friend the seamstress, we walked to the local fast food Brazilian Mexican, Tacolino. As we sat eating, I heard a few fat raindrops. Plunk. Plop. Then the heavens opened over the 205-605 superquadras. I mean it began to pour. Not rain, pour.

We finished our lunches and then pulled out umbrellas for the trek back to EAB. This walk takes about 7 minutes from Tacolino. Today though, it felt like about 20.

The sidewalks became fast moving rivers. The trees which usually provide protection seemed to make funnels of water instead. We had rain hitting us it seemed through our umbrellas. They were pointless. It was Forest Gump-like rain. It was raining down and also up.
Raining sideways and even diagonal.

We then got to the edge of the sidewalk. By this time, my shirt and capris, up to my knees, we soaked. At the edge of the sidewalk, next to the curb, I saw that the river that I had been wading through on the sidewalk suddenly had grown into the size of the Amazon. We stepped on a convinently located speed bump (the first time I was actually glad for one) as it served as an island in the Amazon.

We began to cross a parking lot and that's where the laughing began. Our umbrellas served more for psychological and physiologial purposes as we waded through two more Amazon-like, flooded areas.

Then we reached the main street, the L2, that we had to cross. There usually is never lunchtime traffic but today because the heavens had opened and each and every single drop of rain was being squeezed out, there was tons of traffic. Hayes warned me to push the crossing light and step back. I did as about 30 cars and 4 buses passed us. Water went spraying everywhere. The whole time, I was still laughing.

Eventually we made it across, soaked, cold but we survived in flipflops in a flood back to EAB. As I returned to find my students in our classroom many asked, "why are you wet?" and "what happened?" Only to find myself laughing again. It's always an adventure.

But the best part is, it happened all over again tonight. I went to the local dollar store to buy some things for dinner club on Thursday and guess what? I think I must be a target. The sponge is full and somebody's having fun watching me wade across the streets of Brasilia. Only this time, I was carrying 4 bags, my purse and an umbrella down the street and across a field. I'm sure I was great entertainment for all of the people outside. A gringa. Weighed down by lotsa bags. With crazy curly hair from the humidity, trying to shuffle her way home. Hope somebody took my picture.