Friday, August 15, 2008

Another crazy thing about Puerto Rico

Have I ever told you that Puerto Ricans are afraid of the rain? I mean really afraid of the rain. They believe that if you even get sprinkled on that you will get sick. And they believe that if you are ever sick it is because you got sprinkled on within the last few days (or that there is too much dust in your house but that is another post for another day!)
I remember that once I was at a church primary activity it had been sprinkling a little before but when it let up I let the kids go outside. My friend told me that if any of the parents saw that I had let the kids out that they would be really mad at me. Another time I saw a friend who had a cold and when I asked her if she was sick she told me she was because she had to run outside to get her dog's food and in the process she got a little wet and of course was then sick. So rainy days are the absolute best days to go out because there are no long lines to wait in at the stores or banks, or anything else for that matter. Everyone is at home waiting out the rain.
And the really funny thing is that Puerto Rico is a tropical island in the Carribean. It is raining everyday on some part of the island. We have a tropical rainforest for crying out loud! You would think that they would be used to this by now!
But no. This morning I woke up and it was raining and I thought I bet they cancelled school so I am not even going to bother taking them. Sure enough my friend called and let me know that they were sending all of the kids home because it was raining. Glad I didn't go through the whole ordeal of getting them ready and taking them.
Of course rain means one thing for my kids- PLAY. I am sure the neighbors are ready to call me into to child protection services!

7 comments:

Jed said...

Let it rain, let it rain! That is too funny that people living in a tropical environment would be scared of the rain. Well, go figure. Did your old(not calling you old) college friend tell you how small a world it is?

Puerto Rico sounds fun. Enjoy the rain

themechams said...

No sir! I can not believe that! Too funny. If I let my kids read that post they will be trying to convince the entire city of Vegas to fear the rain...no school from time to time...they would love it!

Unknown said...

Another common cause of "la gripe" is cold air, for example, opening the door of the refrigerator too much. Somehow refrigerator air is much more dangerous than, say, the icy a/c of a movie theater. :)

Jenn Douglas said...

That is so funny! I love the rain. When I go home to visit my family in Texas, I love it when it rains. I take Cooper out and play with him in the streets as they fill up with water. It's one of my favorite childhood memories.

Anonymous said...

Looks nice!!! We love the rain here but we just dont get enough.

Shaul Family said...

I remember when we went to Puerto Rico and it started to rain. Everybody started running like crazy. Too funny.

Unknown said...

The neighbors wont call the police. Don't worry, in fact the natives there also enjoy the rain. It sounds to me that you are there but don't really want to be there. Instead of making fun of the way the islanders live why not learn from their culture. I am sure you can find something positive to write about. Please, write them down. That way your friends and family can also learn from the good things that the island offers. Instead of looking down on the people there...