Under My Umbrella.

I dedicate this post to Gary and Alice....and their love for songs about umbrellas.


Never in my life have I gotten so much mileage out of an umbrella as in the last month. I don't leave home without it - ever.


It's the rainy season in southern China which means that the weather is nice for most of the day, even sunny, and then when you least expect it the sky will literally turn black and out of nowhere a thunderstorm appears. And does it ever storm. One minute there is a little pitter patter splatter of rain, and the next you are wading ankle deep in water. I now know why they make such cheap shoes in China - because you will ruin them when it rains. As much as I love my umbrella, when it really storms as it did on my way home last night, there is not much you can do to stay dry. I came home with only a dry head. The rain falls sideways in Guangzhou.

Some random thoughts on the topic:

Walking with an umbrella is an art. Crossing a street with a hundred people holding umbrellas is a scientific nightmare.

So many things to think about - how to angle it for the best protection, how to pass others without getting an eye poked out, who goes up, who goes down. And then there are indoor issues - the proper etiquette required when bringing a wet umbrella into a shop or restaurant. Someone is always taking my umbrella away from me to put into a special plastic bag, or to store in an umbrella holder, sometimes with a key- it's all so complicated. In Edmonton we wear rain jackets. In Edmonton, it doesn't really rain. Not really.



I had a beautiful umbrella moment recently. I left school a little earlier than usual, right after my students had been picked up, and as I made my way home, it started to pour. I popped open my umbrella, and continued on my preoccupied way. Suddenly, I hear a chorus of "Ms. Havilah's!" and look up to see about ten of our Korean students with their mothers on their way home. Each of them was under a bright umbrella - a mosaic of blues, yellows, pinks and reds, poka dots, stripes, and checks. The entire group stopped, waved, and then as if choreographed, in the midst of the thundering rain, the mothers all smiled and bowed in unison. breathtaking.



Scott and I usually get along well, but not under one umbrella. It just doesn't work. We may need one of these.



A final thought. What if you could combine an umbrella and a rain jacket? hmm.