monsoon season

so the last few days we've had some heavy rains. strong and steady with not much warning. well, the sky gets dark in one area, but when it starts to spontaneously pour, the sun's still out and remains out well into the deluge. it's the kind of rain that even if you had an umbrella, you'd still get soaked to the bone. even if you had a rain poncho, your pants would get drenched. so, this afternoon, my friend lydia and i were out running some errands and shopping. we stopped for a late lunch and noticed the sky was darkening. it started to rain so suddenly, though and the sun was still so bright that it was a bit eerie. luckily we were seated under an awning, but even then, the spatter crashing down off it was still so strong that we were getting splashed and opted to move inside. afterwards, the temperature was very pleasant compared to the pre-rain heat and humidity; we decided to walk home in the dark. the streets were flooded, sidewalks puddled, dogs dripping and the best part, the air pollution literally had been rained down. as we were strolling back to our abode, we marveled at how life continues and how normal living here feels to us. people were sweeping the water off their stoops, but the same dogs and people were outside of the same houses and shops and things just rolled along. i am told this is life during the monsoon season in kathmandu...only with lottts more water. huh. lottts of love, j