Just walk on the street!

Monday June 11, 2007
I've got to tell you about the challenge of trying to stay dry as people walk to and from work/school/market, etc now that it's rainy season and it rains essentially every day.

Picture this with me:
1st: the sidewalks are sometimes the normal width, but 1/2 the time they are wide enough for just one person. 2nd: The overhangs from the roofs on the buildings don't stick out very far. 3rd: NONE of the window frames around here sit flush against the exterior of the building. All of the windows have a bottom ledge of concrete that juts out about 10-12", usually at about should height. Still with me?
So, when it's raining, and assuming your on a sidewalk of normal width, the rains pours off the buildings overhanging roof onto the middle of the sidewalk. So, you tend to hug the wall. But the windows, about every 20 steps, makes it impossible to hug the wall, so you either try to go under the ledge or under Niagara Falls. If you decide to just walk in the rain on the outer half of the sidewalk and use your rain jacket, hood, and/or umbrella, then you get splashed with yucky, muddy water by passing cars, trucks, motorcycles, and took-tooks. (Kudos to you if you remember from my first blog entry about took-tooks!) And if you're on a narrow sidewalk...well, it's hopeless. For that matter, if you're on a wide sidewalk, it's hopeless to stay dry too. So, in my opinion, just walk on the street!