I usually write about life stories and human encounters, but today, I would like to take sometime to muse about rain.

Thinking of rain, the song "Rhythm of the Rain" always comes to my mind. It was used as the background music for Wrigley's Doublemint Gum TV commercial in the 90s and early 2000s. I love two scenes in that commercial:

You can take a look at the full commercial here. The version I know of was dubbed in Vietnamese but for now I can only find the one with Chinese narration. To be in a "rainy" mood, I suggest listening to the song as you read the rest.

Growing up in a city by the beach, in a tropical country, I'm used to living with two seasons every year. It's scorching hot and humid for almost half of the year, and for the other half, it rains continuously for days.

The "April 2 Square" along Nha Trang beach

I still remember sitting behind my mom every rainy morning as she rode me to school on her motorbike. It would be really dangerous to hold an umbrella when commuting on a motorbike. The strong wind could blow the umbrella away and commuters could fall onto the road from their vehicles. Thus, we had to wear raincoats most of the time. My mom and I usually shared one raincoat when we had to travel. Having half of the raincoat covering my body meant I could not easily see the surrounding without getting wet. However, I loved staring at the reflections of things on the puddles or the splash from raindrops pouring down on the streets.

Come to Vietnam during the rainy season and experience this

The rain puddle somewhere in Singapore

During the years in Singapore, I walked a lot and umbrellas became my personal necessity. The area I lived at had the highest average annual rainfall, and it rained very often in Singapore. It was common for students to get drenched in the extremely heavy rain accompanied with sudden gusts of wind. I will never forget those times when my uniform was almost soaked up on the way to school because the umbrella flipped up out of the sudden. I admit silent profanity calmed down my anger at these moments. As the situation happened more frequently, I began to tell myself, "Expect the unexpected because sometimes life just wreck you down to teach you something."

In Singapore, when it rains, it rains hard

Ever since I came to the States, I've understood the challenge of moving shopping bags from Walmart trolleys to the car while holding an umbrella when it's pouring. I've discovered that there is the possibility of mild flood after two days of continuous rain on campus. At ULM, once on a freezing cold and rainy day, I struggled to hold the icy umbrella handle walking back to my dorm from the cafeteria. I shivered so much that I had to stop multiple times on my way, took a breath and warmed up myself. On that day, my mind just focused on the nearest Starbucks in front of my eyes because I knew how warm and cozy it would be there.

I love rain, nevertheless.

Looking out of the window when it's raining, regardless of where I am, is absolutely my favorite thing to do. Raindrops on the window panes bring about such a serenity and solitude that can calm someone down. The misty and blurry surrounding feels like a dream. City lights became splendid, sparkling bokeh. No matter busy a city can be, rain seems to sooth its hustle and bustle. And so, rain heals human hearts and minds in similar ways.

My room window in Singapore

My room window at ULM

Rain usually comes when it's time for me to leave or to arrive. "It never rains till you come," my brother said. On the day I left my hometown five years ago, as the train was setting off, it was pouring down so hard. Tears started to roll down my face when I saw friends sharing a single raincoat running towards the train, waving to me. After a few hours, when I was sitting on the school bus on the way back from the airport, bigger and more circular raindrops appeared on the bus windows. Singapore welcomed me with one of the most heavy rains I've ever known. Many years later, as I was waiting for the plane to take off from Dallas to Monroe, I saw the first rain falling from the sky of America. Some weeks ago, when I just reached New York City, it rained, too.

Rain at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport during departure

I came to downtown NYC on a rainy afternoon

It rained for the whole day in NYC

So,

"Oh, listen to the pouring rain

Pitter pater, pitter pater

Oh, listen to,

listen to the pouring rain

Pitter pater, pitter pater

Oh..."

- Rhythm of the rain - The Cascades -

That's it for today. Till next time!