After we have all talked and complained about it I think it ‘s time that someone addresses it openly. It’s disturbing, annoying and frustrating. Everyone chats about it, but still we can’t do anything about it. I don’t think that this post will change anything but at least it will contribute to the ongoing discussion. So yes, I can say it out loud: It’s still raining! … Sorry, I correct myself, it’s not just raining, it’s raining in every possible way: it’s drizzling, frizzling, muzzling, pouring heavily and teeming down. In five words it’s raining cats and dogs. And I am sure there are a thousand other sorts of rain that we are lucky to be experiencing right now in Salzburg.
Normally, I don’t talk about the weather and don’t care about the weather forecast at all. But this summer - yes, one should be able to call it summer at the beginning of June - not even I can avoid the topic. Austria has found its common enemy: the weather god.The first thing I noticed today when I checked my Facebook account was a sudden flourishing of weather or rather rain related groups like “I wanted to take over the world but then it started raining”, “Shitty weather 2010 – I was there”, or “I want my summer back”. So true. However, complaining doesn’t really help it just makes your day worse (and no I am not addicted to Facebook if you’ve got the impression yet).
Sooner or later every one of us will realize that the weather god is an inveterate and superior enemy which we can neither defeat nor stop. So maybe instead of spoiling each other's days by talking about the bad weather non-stop, we should involve ourselves in something more rewarding. Set your head on ‘good mood’ and prepare yourself for the sunshine to come. If you want to start in an effective way try to create a new playlist for you mp3-player. Forget about all the rainy songs like Buckets of Rain, Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head and Why Does it Always Rain on Me and Let the Sunshine In, Keep on the Sunny Side, enjoy an Island in the Sun or Seasons in the Sun. Either way, Here comes the Sun just start Walking on Sunshine.
Show the weather god that you don’t give a **** about his bad mood and that you are ready to show that openly. Also if you haven’t been shopping for a while because you weren’t in the mood for buying winter clothes again you could check out the latest rubber boots at your favorite shoe store – they are a definite trend this summer and help to bring some color into your life.
Another thing you probably haven’t thought about while complaining about the rain is to see the opportunities that this kind of weather offers you. Never before have you had so much time during June to finish your seminar papers and the books on your reading list. Now is also the time to sign up for all the exams you still have to take from the previous semesters. You could also return these overdue already dusty library books that I know you are hiding somewhere on your shelves. When you are finally done with all the university work, you should check out the latest movies at your movie theater or buy the book you haven’t had time to read yet. You could also start to get yourself in shape for the summer – start working out again, paint your toe nails and get a new haircut. Be prepared. Anyway, see the positive side of it all. And if you don’t feel like staying inside anymore then get outside. It’s just a little bit of water, right? (by the way, James Hetfield said that during a rather wet outdoor concert). Go outside, sing and dance in the rain. If it worked for Gene Kelly, why shouldn’t it work for you as well? Another idea would be to camp in your backyard. As long as your tent stays dry nothing can harm you, right?. Just don’t forget to bring a warm blanket and some steaming hot coffee. Some people also love to play sports in the rain like soccer, Frisbee and volleyball. If you are not afraid of slipping the wet ground can even add to the fun of it. However, for those of you who would prefer to stay dry I would recommend you to grab your camera and go for a walk to discover the beauty of rain. Because who said rainy pictures weren’t just as nice as sunny ones?
One last possibility that came to my mind when I was thinking about the things one could do when it rains is informing yourself about rain. No kidding, if we can’t get around these nonsense chats, why not spice them up with some smart details? For example, did you know that “rain-gods and thunder-gods are more prominent in many mythologies than sun-gods, and they have been propitiated in various ways in different cultures” (Yahoo Education) , or that there are three types of rain that can be distinguished according to their different ways they are formed. The UK Geography Site, for instance makes out convectional, frontal and relief rain, and although probably no one around will actually be interested in the type of rain we are having I was able to find out that most probably ours is relief rain. Or did you know that the most rainfall ever recorded was 3.8 cm (1.5 inches) per minute on November 26, 1970 in Barst, Guadeloupe located in the West Indies. Similar facts were compiled by the Info Barrel (h/t Twiggy): Rain drops do not fall in a tear drop shape; they originally fall in the shape of a flat oval. The umbrella was originally invented to protect people from the hot sun. Rain drops can fall at speed of 35km per hour (22 miles/h). I also found out that Rain is the name of a young South Korean singer, dancer and actor whose real name is Jung Hi Hoon. Further, a German town in the region of Swabia is also called Rain, although it’s pronounced a little bit differently. I can’t guarantee you that this information will be well received by your cfriends but at least you will be able to change the common conversational pattern.
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recently got the idea for this blog post when I was wandering about the city searching the numerous university libraries for books on the sociology of crime (to fully understand my wanderings you probably need to know that the Salzburg university library consists of twenty smaller libraries grouped according to their areas of study, which are scattered throughout the city). Anyway, I was wrapped up in my brand-new super trendy summer jacket which I soon realized wasn’t the best choice as I was freezing my butt off, when I walked by a group of tourists who didn’t seem to mind the bad weather at all. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves despite all the drizzling and muzzling around them. They were bundled up in disposable rain coats, rubber boots and hats; and most obviously better prepared than myself. They were laughing, joking and fooling around while they took pictures of the many sights of Salzburg. I am not saying that these tourists wouldn’t have preferred wandering about the Mozartplatz in brilliant sunshine with a coffee ice-cream cone in their hands but they still made the best of it. I guess it’s not just an Austrian stereotype that we love to grumble and complain about everything. So why not stop grumbling now? The Inuit’s don’t complain about the masses of snow they get either.And remember: After rain comes fair weather.
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