NICE LITTLE REMINDERS

Just as I was leaving school today to rush across town to my Thai class, the dark clouds that had been looming in the horizon all day had finally landed directly on top of me.  It always seems to be right at 5pm, the rain begins (how lucky for me!).  The tail-tale signs were there that at any moment it was gonna hit - suddenly it gets very windy and within minutes, it dumps.  And by dump, I mean fire hoses coming down on me.  So I put on my rain gear (basically, it's a shaped, thin garbage bag masquerading as a "poncho") mostly to keep the water off of my backpack that houses my beloved laptop and iPhone.

So I get onto my motor scooter knowing full well that riding any sort of motorcycle in the rain is extremely dangerous.  You know it's bad when the Thai motorcyclists pull over to wait until the rain slows down.  But of course, I don't run on Thai time, I run on American time so I must get to Thai lessons!  Immediately, my long, cotton skirt is soaked, and luckily I'm wearing flip flops so my leather shoes don't get ruined, but one thing I didn't consider in my brilliant decision to ride with flip flops - my feet were getting cold!  So, it's pouring and I'm on a motorbike and the rain honestly feels like little pebbles smacking me all over my body - it hurts.  And because there's so much rain on the ground, there are no "high" spots where hydroplaning is less of an issue, so everyone drives at less than half their regular speed (ok, for me it's less than half my regular speed because regular is at 90km/hr)  ...Moving along... by the time I get to school, I'm soaked, cold, fingers and toes all wrinkly, and irritated with myself for never studying Thai so I'm walking straight into frustration with new materials presented in class and reviewing things I just cannot remember.

I suffer through class albeit freezing cold as my clothes are soaked and the AC and fans in there are on full blast.  Once class was over, I promptly leave to get home and out of my wet clothes.  I was in a pretty shitty mood to be honest.  I just wanted to be dry and warm, to get into a hot shower, lay in bed and watch a movie like it was a cold autumn night.  (What a thought!  I want to be warm for once while in Thailand!!)  When I park my bike at home, relieved that I'm back in one piece, only a few hundred feet from that hot shower and bed, I look up at the sky and notice a firefly flying around.  I've never seen one in the city here as they're typically out in the rural areas outside of town.  It was such a lovely reminder that not only could my day turn around so quickly and be happy about seeing something that's  so small and still pretty awesome in my book, but it was also a nice reminder as to why I moved to this wonderful city - it's sheer natural beauty.  I love riding on motorbikes.  I love rain - even dumping rain.  I don't always like them together but I still get  a little thrill riding in the rain even when I'm complaining.  Cold?  April, shut up.  When was the last time you were cold in S.E. Asia since all you do is SWEAT??  Love it up and move on!  Who knew that one tiny (but beautiful) insect could change my entire perspective around.


Above: Up at a little side temple at the most popular temple in Chiang Mai up on Doi Suthep