#5: Rainy Days and Mondays....in Jakarta

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Rainy Days and Mondays…..in Jakarta

Today was my first day back to work after my 3 week holiday. Overall, I was in a good mood and the day passed very quickly. I got a lot done, attended a few meetings with colleagues, and before I knew it – it was time to head home. But, this is where I made my mistake. I got distracted and spent time at my desk goofing around my computer. Not working mind you, just goofing around - checking airfares and such….

I completely forgot that it is the rainy season in Indonesia! The rainy season actually isn’t as bad as it sounds. I pictured weeks upon weeks of non-stop rain before moving here, but that isn’t how it is. It rains once or twice a day for anywhere between 20 minutes and 2 hours. It almost always rains in late afternoon. However, calling it rain is really underselling it. It is more like pounding sheets of water. I would say it is more like standing at the base of a waterfall that being caught in a simple rain storm. Additionally, you know it’s coming, but you don’t know when. You don’t even see it coming. It could be sunny one minute and dark as night the next. In fact, from my 20^th floor apartment, I can see the whole city of Jakarta. Scan the horizon and you’ll see a range of different weather conditions!

Well, just as I was shutting down my computer to head home – it starts. I think, maybe by the time I walk to the entrance, it’ll slow down or stop. I get halfway there and realize that thought was pure folly. So, I sit on a bench and check my email, play some words with friends – anything to drag out my time under the overhangs that weave through campus. After a few minutes I decide this is going to be one of those 2 hour storms, as I think it’s actually getting worse, if that is possible. When I get to the entrance I get out my rain jacket, which seems woefully inadequate in this situation.

The first thing I do is try to dance around deep puddles, as if there is any chance that my shoes are going to make it home dry if I’m really careful. That lasts about 5 meters and I give up. The walk home is only 5 minutes – It won’t be too bad, right? Wrong. There are no sidewalks. I can usually walk on the shoulder of the road to avoid traffic, but that shoulder is now a raging river. I look like I’m running an obstacle course – trying to avoid cars, motorbikes, the deepest water, roadside fruit stands and a guy delivering a giant block of ice on a scooter.

I finally make to the bottom of the hill and things aren’t too bad. I have some wet spots down the sides of my chinos and my shoes are soaked, but there’s only a couple hundred meters to my door and dryness…. That’s when I zig when I should’ve zagged and run right into the splash zone of a giant SUV. So close!

So, what is the lesson here? If you find yourself in the rainy season in the tropics, make your move when you have the chance. Ten minutes later and you could be soaked head to toe with Jakarta sewer water…..

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Photos

Jakarta in the Rainy Season
Torrential rains to the right, nice and bright on the left