Wordless Wednesday: Rain in Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro Under Water

And now the rains have come.  It's raining it's pouring, the old man is snoring as Largo do Machado, Pinheiro Machado, and Rua das Laranjeiras flood. Damn old man, get up and watch the rain.

Rio de Janeiro Weather is bi-polar

We are having some seriously bi-polar weather this winter.  It´s starting to get under my skin. I´ve heard of seasonal depression but never of actual seasons having manic depression. 

I just looked into my living room and saw that there was some far overdue sunlight shining in. Oh glorious sun!  So I look out the window and the sky is, oddly, covered in black clouds. Well way to literally rain on my parade.

Ok Rio de Janeiro, which is it going to be?  The Gods of the city of God were not answering this morning so I checked the forecast online. 

Apparently, Rio is trying to get it all done today. Scattered sun and scattered showers with a 50/50 chance of rain. What the hell is that?  They should just say what they really mean....

Aka.  Damned if I know!

May the Force Be With me

I´m one lucky lady today.  Not only do I have to work but it´s raining and I get to go to downtown (centro) Rio de Janeiro. I know you all want to be me right now.

The funnest part about Centro and rain is that the drainage is horrible.  There are large and deep puddles everywhere. Add to it the fact that it´s not the cleanest neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro and you have in your hands my Wednesday joy.

It´s like bobbing for apples only with your shoes and pant legs. Goodness knows what´s going to stick to the back of your jeans today Rachel!  You think you picked the shallowest part of the lake in the middle of the street only to find you hit puddle lottery and are shin deep. Score! 

The bestest part of the whole thing is that I´m meeting a new student.  I just hope that his first impression of me isn´t that I`m a drowned kitten, my whiskers usually throw people off.  Better yet, I may buy and show up in a poncho. It will only confirm my native speaker status. 

I used to mock Cariocas and their fear of the rain but now I see where they are coming from.  This beautiful tropical city is, ironically, not made for it.  The streets flood, the traffic is hell, and the people are cranky.  I think the city planner started his job during the dry season, at a Brazilian bbq, and after quite a few stupidly cold (brazilian phrase) chopps (drafts). 

Ah well, what can you do?  A girls got to eat, a girls got to work, and people need to learn their English. Thankfully I´m only only partially made of sugar and won´t totally melt.  Ohhhh, maybe that part is my saddle bags and it´ll just melt right off!  A girl can dream, can´t she.  I like to think of it as finding a silver lining. 

Rain: The perfect excuse

I was invited to meet up with a friend of mine at her boyfriend's place for some beers this evening. They will be continuing on to Lapa for a night of partying and she thought that I'd enjoy the pre-party. Sadly, I'm far past my all night Rio de Janeiro partying days.  I cringe at the thought of being out all night and coming home to a waking toddler. 

So I was thinking about it. I love meeting up with Ju and it's always nice to have a few beers.  I told her I'd call her after class.

I was still wishy washy when class was over.  Call me old, which I am even pre-30, but it was already 930pm and I am tired!  I do not consider that a good excuse though because, let's face it, I'm always tired. 

That being said, tired can always work for sex. Not that I'm looking for an excuse, but when you are beat, the last thing you want to do is ride a horse. All I'm saying...

Anyway, it had started to rain during class. Perfect!  It's always an acceptable excuse in Rio de Janeiro to not feel like going out in the rain. You have got to love that! If Ju were British I would have been popped right over to her shit list, but she's not!  Cariocas are made of sugar and sass, and we all know both melt in the rain. 

So I'm happy. I'm in my jammies by 10pm. I get to sleep to the sound of rain on the window and tin garage roof.  That last one is an acquired taste that I, in fact, acquired when they put up the damn tin roof.  Neither one of us is going anywhere so someone had to give. 

Goodnight Rio!