Singing in the Rain

The scene opens with my walking with Sylvia and Scott Antonides (the A team as I lovingly refer to them).  Talking about life and enjoying a nice spring rain walk in Beijing; they with their umbrellas, and I with my homemade rain poncho made from a black garbage bag.  The music swells and then comes to a......SCREECHING HALT!

Ok.  Let me back up a few scenes so you can fully enjoy what occurred to me last night.  First of all, the weather forecast here in Beijing is really unpredictable.  I'm not talking about the usual weather forecast "miss" that we have back in the US but more like utter fails.  The forecast will say rain when it never does.  Or it'll say sunny and blue skies when the pollution that day literally covers both.  So, yesterday the forecast said rain and as usual, I laughed in its face, wore cute summer flats, and went to school on my electric bike without bringing my poncho.

After a busy day at school, I noticed, yes friends, RAIN!  I had no time to spare as I had to head to an English tutoring job so I quickly made a poncho out of a garbage bag.  I made it safely to my tutoring job  which is no small feat.  For some reason when it rains, Beijing people love to drive cuhrazy!  (This is one of the moments in life when one syllable words are necessary for emPHAsis.)

After tutoring class, I decided to still meet my friends Sylvia, Scott, and Matt at a local Malaysian restaurant for dinner.  I struggled because I didn't have proper shoes on for rain, and I hate riding my bike in it.  So I decided to just park my bike at the A team's apt. since we were going there after dinner for a movie.  I hailed down a taxi and then walked through puddles in my flats (not so cute after the rain) and made my way to the restaurant.

After dinner, we made our way back in the rain.  I had my dress pants hiked around my knees so that they wouldn't get too wet and sported my garbage bag poncho.  We bussed it to the A team's place and were strolling back to their place.  We were walking in the bike lane because in Beijing, sometimes that's the easiest place to walk.  We were slowly making our way to the sidewalk when I heard Scott's voice boom in my left ear, "LOOK OUT!!!!!"

Wham!  My right side of my body was hit with an electric bike.  My right shoe flew into the air while my left shoe completely ripped from underneath me.  I honestly have no idea how I stayed on my feet.  After the fear subsided that I had broken any bones, I began to observe this Chinese man.  I then said aloud, "Is he drunk?"  Sure enough... he was.

Scott attempted to help this guy fix his bike but it was wrecked.  (Cue music.  "She's a brick....house"....)  Suddenly, Sylvia says, "Let's go!".

There was commotion that happened behind me.  All of a sudden this Chinese man wanted something from us.  Sylvia just kept telling me to hurry but my left shoe was utterly not a shoe anymore.  It was in shreds.  I lost it "running" away.  It had to be left (no pun intended) behind.  This guy was chasing us and Scott attempted to stop him while we got away.

I had an umbrella in my hand by that point and twice couldn't get through gate doors because of it.  At one point I was stuck in the door, without one shoe, shouting at Sylvia, "Help, how do you shut this umbrella!"  I was so nervous the Chinese man would catch up to us.  He never did.

Needless to say, I SCRUBBED my feet when I got to the A's.  Beijing pavement is disgusting!  And watched a little bit of The Way.  I fell asleep because I crashed from the adrenaline rush that I had just experienced.

After I left the A's apt. (Sylvia was kind to lend me her rain boots), I decided to check out the scene of the crime.  My left shoe was gone (this is dangerously starting to sound like Cinderella) and the drunk man's bike was still parked in the bike lane.

When it rains it pours you a glass of milk that you just can't cry over.

UPDATE:  This morning I checked the weather reports, and it's supposed to rain.  Do you think I learned my lesson?  You can comment about it on my facebook page.  :)