not in the guidebook

Last week it rained twice, which was a nice change of pace, as it reaches the mid 30s most days. This is noteworthy because it has only rained 3 times since March, and it seemed quite strange to have a completely dry spring. I think everyone was a bit relieved to see the downpour, but they avoided it at all costs. It's funny, people on bikes aren't afraid of darting in front of a speeding bus, but the rain seems to freak them out. They'll smoke, SMS, talk on the phone, and even hold their umbrellas (for shade) while biking in a skirt, but the second a raindrop falls, out come... the ponchos! Giant plastic brightly colored ponchos lined the bike lanes (I use the term loosely. Really, it's bike lane, walking lane, garbage cart lane, taxi lane, anyone in a hurry lane) during evening rush hour. I pictured my mother looking at them, then looking at me and saying, "Uh-huh. Guess in some countries people aren't such snobs!" My mother made me bring a poncho on a 1st grade field trip to the zoo and has been trying to convince me of the convenience and comfort of said poncho ever since (At the age of 6 I told her I'd rather get wet. I was precocious).

Also, the sky looked like this.

You know in Ghostbusters 2, where there's that evil painting and they go down into the sewer and instead of sewage they find writhing and bubbling pink slime? Ok that's what the sky looked like in China.

And then this happened.

Foreground: bug under glass
Background: bug repellent wall plug

I'm a very strong mature woman, and I handle unexpected situations and emergencies surprisingly well. However, bugs kind of give me tourrets. I squeal, I jump, I shake, I act totally obnoxious, so you can imagine, I was quite proud of myself for keeping my hand steady enough to trap this one. Regardless, I'm pretty sure when the sky turns pink and the locusts flee for the indoors, it's time to call Ghostbusters.