One person’s rain is another’s refreshment

Welcome to the land of rain. We live in a wet environment. People have lived here for hundreds of years. Rain is normal. Rain does not stop everyday life.


I remember a trip I made to French Guiana probably 20 years ago. My aspiring author roommate at the time was doing research for a romantic novel about two gay men from France who fell in love in Paris and then later found themselves, independently, in the prison colony of French Guiana. The book was supposed to have a happy ending. We spent three weeks in French Guiana doing “research.” (Those were the days.)

At any rate, it exposed us to French Guiana, where I first saw construction workers working through a downpour. Heck – if you stopped working every time it started to rain – shit would not get built.

Cayenne, French Guiana, was the first city where I noticed eroded ruts in the sidewalk made by the rain runoff from the roof above.

We get some rain down here in South America. Trust me.

And with all the “Global Weirding” going on – the downpours of late can be record-breaking.

But the fun part is that so many people in my neighborhood do not shy away from just a bit of rain. If it is only raining a little bit, not everyone opens an umbrella. Walking in the rain can be a nice, refreshing antidote to the heat. Clothing is thin, so it dries quickly – what’re a few rain drops on your shoulders? It feels great.

Give me a sprinkle during a hot afternoon. I’ll take it. Don’t fight it. Find the positive. Está bem fresqinho.