rain and lunch

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Rain is roaring outside my windows this morning - the room's filled with the smell, the sound of the first real rain in a long time hitting the warm pavement, the neighborhood rooftops, smoldering garbage piles, the swampy canal a few blocks away. The stormy sky, the way I didn't see sunlight until 9 this morning, the puddles on my doorstep - it reminds me of home in Oregon.

Unlike in Oregon, where going out in the rain is a near daily necessity, stepping outside when it's raining here - unless for completely unavoidable reasons - is considered strange behavior. The one and only time i went for a run in the rain, i got looks of confusion, astonishment, concern, horror from my neighbors and constant offers of shelter or assistance from drivers, motorcyclists, bicyclists, grandmas poking their heads from kitchen windows, landscaping crews taking shelter under banana trees. So instead of going for a run this morning, I treated myself to a cup of tea, a piece of toast and 3 hours of winter Olympics coverage - all enjoyed in the comfort of the nest i've built myself in my bed here.

By 10am I'd worked up an appetite from all that eating and nestling and Olympics watching, so I summoned the energy to take a cold shower, get out of my pajamas and visit a nearby market to pick up lunch. I went for something I hadn't tried yet, and I'm still unsure as to what it was, really..

food parcel

Served on a banana leaf, this dish (I asked about 10 different people what it's called and I can't remember what a single of them told me) is basically a really eggy, slightly oily, crunchy, chewy crepe (or maybe some strange cousin of the omelet?) stuffed with veggies and an indistinguishable protein substance. The salty, sweet, savory flavor was incredibly similar to the taste of pad thai, now that I think about it. When I ordered, the surprisingly voluptuous Thai woman at the food stall, cooking fast and ferociously, stopped what she was doing for about 2 seconds to shout something in Thai, then flip, fold and wrap the meal in a banana leaf, drop it into a bag along with a little condiment bag of cucumbers with red onion and vinegar, take my money and hand me my meal. And most impressive was the fact that the whole time she kept a broad smile on her face. I imagine I'd be a crazed, wild-eyed, panicked mess.

The countdown to summer vacation continues: 7 school days