つゆ (Rainy Season)

It's definitely rainy season now. I think it started last Monday. The amount of rain that has been falling is amazing; it's a practical deluge. The sky is cloudy every day and the air is thick with wet humidity. I will leave the house thinking it will just be a grey and muggy day, only to get caught in a sudden downpour. I swear, the weather will be cloudy but calm, but then with the blink of an eye or a trip to the grocery store, it will start pouring buckets from the sky. Like it is right now, with a side of stifling heat. I am completely amazed at the amount of water I'm seeing right now. There's thunder and lightning too, and it reverberates in my ribs. I'm a wuss when it comes to thunder and lightning, but I think it's so cute and funny how every time a bolt hits I can hear the little girls shrieking and the little boys making some semi-manly shouting noise that sounds like "UWAAAAHHHHHHH" in the halls while I sit in the teacher's room. It's totally on cue and it's adorable.

And now I'm hanging out at school waiting to see if it'll let up a bit, otherwise it's going to a mad wet dash to the car. But actually I think it would be so fun to play in the rain right now, it's warm and heavy and perfect for football or dancing! I think living in Japan has definitely made me appreciate the distinctions between seasons and the power of weather; they come swifty and relentlessly and in such extremes. It's pretty amazing!