Wet Wednesday

We are now back in Beijing, several weeks earlier than usual. Our normal weather experience here includes dry, smoggy days with very little precipitation. Sometimes we get a few inches of snow in the winter; sometimes we get a day of light rain. We have heard that Beijing receives 70% of its annual rainfall in July & August. As such, we have not experienced that -- until now.  I need to remember to carry an umbrella. However, not even an umbrella nor raincoat helped this past Wednesday when we made two treks to visit friends. One set of friends lives a 10 minute walk. The other set lives about 1 hour away, a trek that includes a bus ride, walk to the subway, subway, walk from the subway to our old apartment complex near Olympic Forest Park. When we arrived at their apartment, our friend greeted us at his door with a laugh and a dry towel. Sometimes in the name of friendship, we are foolish.