Sunscreen and Umbrellas

At home, it rains in spring, is hot in summer, and rains in the fall. Rarely are there both rain and hot in the same season, let alone in the same day. Here, it rains 10-11 months of the year. I'm sad to say our "summer" was just over a month long and the rains have already returned. There is a pattern though. The mornings get hot by midday, then the clouds roll in and it pours, and it's clear by night. Here, if a white person like me does not have sunscreen on in the morning, they're burnt by noon. And if a person does not have an umbrella when the rain hits after lunch, they're soaked. Unfortunately a raincoat is not good enough to keep a person dry. It merely lets the water run off their top and soak their pants. Plus it's too hot even in the rain to wear a jacket. And you should see the rivers that run down the street - they are incredible! The rain comes fast, too. So if you feel a few fat drops, run for cover...or else.

Walking from Chicoy to Mocohan with my trusty friend...my umbrella

There are some benefits to the rain though. Here, when it's sunny, things burn easier. So in summer, people burn their garbage piles, their fields, and firecrackers. In BC, we slash burn in the wet season (winter/spring) for fear of forest fires getting away on us. Here, they burn in dry season because things just don't burn when they're soaked. There have been times when I have been overwhelmed by firesmoke or firecracker smoke sitting in my bedroom. Tactic becomes so hazy and smokey that you can't see the other side of town. Now that the rains have come again, there is blue sky again (even if only in the morning) and I can breathe easier. I'm thankful it is not the same kind of rain we had in February, where it would rain for days on end and we'd be running out of clothes before another chance came to do laundry (can't dry clothes on the line in 100% humidity with no sun).  

Laundry day at our house, doing our best to dry clothes in cloudy weather.

Other benefits of this time of year here in Tactic are that the fireflies are in season, as are leaf bugs (catydids) which just look really neat (I don't have a picture yet for you, sorry). Unfortunately it's also fly season and mouse season, both of which are in our house. Rain also keeps the dust down when you're walking along dirt roads beside traffic. There are also some pretty intense thunder storms. I don't think I've ever heard thunder that loud echo for that long down the valley. The rain also cools things down to help everyone sleep better at night. So if you're travelling to a tropical country and don't want to get rained out on your vacation, don't be upset. Rain is not all that bad (coming from someone from Kamloops who loves the sun). Just know that by the time August rolls around, I might be ready to come home for a visit to escape the rain and enjoy some Kamloops sun.