Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Trini Tuesday-Rain, rain, go away

Tl reminded me of rainy season this week so I thought I'd talk a little about that. Also, up until yesterday I was pretty sure we were having rainy season here in Pennsylvania. I think we are finally drying out a bit.

Growing up in Pennsylvania, I was accustomed to 4 distinct seasons. There is something very comforting about that rhythm and something wonderful about the variety of seasons and weather we can get here.

Not so in Trinidad. In the tropics you get two seasons, rainy and dry. In Trinidad the dry season generally lasts from January to May, the rainy season lasts from June to December. that's not to say it never rains during the dry season or that it rains constantly during the rainy season. It just means the heaviest rains come during the rainy season.

During the rainy season it ususally rains some every day and some of the rain is so hard it is mind boggling. I never saw rain like I saw in Trinidad. Our house, like a lot of others, was concrete block with a corrugated metal roof. And when I am telling you it rained hard I mean it rained so hard that it was deafening inside the house. I could be standing next to Mr. Lime and have to shout to be heard during some of the more powerful downpours. The first time I experienced a rain like that I thought the roof would be coming down on my head. And yet, I could often keep the windows to the house open during a down pour because the rain just came straight down. It didn't blow all around and come in the windows as long as you had half decent eaves on the roof.

Another strange thing for a Pennsylvania girl is recognizing that grey skies don't mean it's going to be a cool, wrap up in an afghan and sip a mug of tea sort of afternoon. It was still (to my way of thinking and my pregnant self, which I recognize skews all perception) beastly hot. It was still the tropics and no amount of grey skies meant you were going to get chilly...well, unless you are a born Trini, in which case you need a quilt when it is 70F degrees at night.

Just like we have what we call 'Indian Summer' (a couple weeks of warmer temperatures and clear sunny skies after autumn has set in) in these northern climates, Trinidad has what is called 'Petit Carem.' Petit Carem is a period of two to four weeks of unseasonably hot and dry weather during the rainy season (usually September). Everyone puts away their umbrellas for a bit, dries out, and enjoys the sunshine before it's back to many more weeks of rain. It's like a mental health break from all the rain falling.

Now perhaps the thing I enjoyed most about rainy season in Trinidad (and it certainly wasn't trying to get laundry to dry on the line!) was all the things one could be excused from because 'rain fallin.'

Gyul, why yuh did not make it to sunday dinner?
Oh gosh, Mummy! Rain was fallin'!

Sistah Flora, we did miss yuh singing in church dis mornin.'
Yes, yes, but rain was fallin' yuh know?'

Mr. Charles, it seems you are late for work again.
Yes sir, but rain was fallin'.


Now on the matters of a good fete (party) "rain was fallin'" is an excuse only used if one was seeking to avoid other attendees of said fete. Otherwise...Let we fete because rain is fallin' and what else is dey to do?

Happy Trini Tuesday!

17 comments:

Stephanie said...

LOL at the rain excuses. I'm thinking my nana is Trini. Every time it rains she calls to ask, "you're not going out today? It's raining you know." and "You didn't send the kids to school in this rain?"

S said...

Im sitting here wondering how are you typing all of this with one hand.
If Janita is typing already, I say, go Janita go!

LOL Gyul, if rain be fallin' in Trini like it does in India, there sure wont be a lot getting done around there! LOL

KFarmer said...

I live in a house w/a tin roof so am familiar with that wonderful sound. A definate curl up and read type of day-

So happy to hear Janita is knitting well and making good progress.

I've missed so much lately, and apologize for being late to the fete :)

ttfootball said...

Lime allyuh didnt have a ceilin'? LOL LOL When I was younger part of our house didn't, it was so funny when the phone rang, you couldn't hear, so you had to tell the person to hold while you went to pick up the other phone where the ceiling was hehe

lime said...

snavy, she may well be;)

bare, it does fall HARD gyul! and yes janita is doing some of the typing, but i switch to one hand if she gets tired.

kfarmer, yep..i am all over those curl up days. thanks for the well wishes...and gyul, ya have an excuse...rain was fallin!

seamus, yes, i am more about the sun breaks myself. so glad to know you enjoy these posts.

tt, we had a ceilin but it was thin. and i am telling ya, when youare from here nothing quite prepaers youfor the noise of hard tropical rain battering a tin roof! i can believe yuh on de phone ting!

Logophile said...

Ok, I love that excuse!
Being from Washington it would be VERY handy! As Seamus pointed out though, in winter here you get the opposite.
"Why did you miss the meeting?"
"The sun was shining! We went ____ (hiking, driving, to the beach, etc etc)."
"Oooooh, right, ok."

Anonymous said...

ditto what Logo said (being in the Province above washington~and only a few measly hours away~ we tend to have simular weather)

:)
*surprise*

Anonymous said...

It is similar here as well. During the rainy season, it is not uncommon to see rivers where there were none before. It is so much rain in such a short period that many hillsides are covered with concrete to prevent landslides.

Breazy said...

I love rainy days but I can only handle a couple of them before I am ready to rip my hair out from boredom ! How is the arm?

Kelly said...

I love rainy days, but not having to drive in TX in the rain

Hypersonic said...

I remember when I moved to Brazil and it rained for 4 days solid, no stop. Car's bobbing down the road kinda rain. I thought I was going to have to buy a boat. The good thing about where I live in Maceio is that you can see the rain coming in off the sea so you can generally prepare yourself for it.

RennyBA said...

Well, fall can be a hard exchange for summer in Norway too, but there are posetive side of the season. Food is one of them - welcome over, the dinner is served:-)

dr. psy said...

Love the sound of rain falling on those roofs! Theres just something about it that is so wonderful!

Marc

Anonymous said...

It rains pretty hard in Malaysia too. But Trini gets the cigar!

Happy Trini Tuesday Lime!

Moosekahl said...

I don't know if I could handle "rainy or dry". I too love the four seasons and when I moved somewhere with only two (AZ...hot and hotter) I wasn't very happy. Hope your week is going well.

Bridget Jones said...

Lime, love that you're a Pa girl too. Would like to have experienced the two season weather, but really really love fall.

Sig.

Love the 'rain was fallin'' excuse!!!

Happy TT!!! Hope you're healin' well? And that the rain ain't fallin'?

Anonymous said...

I'm always up for a good fete! Holla ... and I know one thing that the rain on a hot timn roof wouldn't stop!
TG