The rainstorms here are magnificent, powerful, and expensive.

So, in my previous post, I mentioned how a residual typhoon couldn't come close to our usual rainstorms. I will elaborate.

Summer is the rainy season in Yancheng. And to my dismay, this is no Pacific Northwest, continuous, fluctuating density, rain-is-annoying-and-I,-Chelsea,-hate-it-so-so-so-much-but-I-can-usually-avoid-it, and-I-can-manage-because-I-have-a-waterproof-jacket-and-a-contained-vehicle, rain shower. No, this's something else entirely. Here's a 30-second video I took of a rainstorm. The thunder roll on this clip isn't as loud as some that came before and after, but the lightening (about 20 seconds in) is amazingly brilliant. And it comes right before the thunder, so it had to have been wicked close.

[The loud white-noise sound is the rain.]
I love leaving the curtains open and watching the lightning.

If you're out, and it starts to rain, it's better just to suck it up and pay for a taxi/sanlunche to take you the rest of the way to your destination: it can go from a sprinkle to a deluge before you can think to pull out an umbrella. I made the mistake of thinking I could reasonably walk from the bus to work during one downpour, and I had to stop half-way and buy fresh clothes because the ones I was wearing became soaked through in a matter of minutes. My walking sneakers didn't dry for two days; I had to leave them in front of the heater. I am not a rainboot wearer, but I've had to purchase a pair out of absolute necessity.